The Legend of Zelda: Heroes' Fall
by rothwyn
Summary: A year after the events in Heroes of Time, the land of Hyrule has come under attack by a strange and powerful new force. Cruelest Evil, and an Invincible Army. . .against such odds, who can stand?


1 The Legend of Zelda: Heroes' Fall  
  
This is the second chapter in the Heroes Trilogy. Once again, I ask all those who read it, and some of you who don't, to post ideas, criticism, comments, compliments, bank account numbers, etc. No flaming please, or I will find out who you are, where you live, and hunt you don't like an animal. Have a nice day.  
  
Author's Note  
  
Once again, this is mainly for me to say a few things just to get them out of the way. I advise that nobody waste their time reading this, and just read the fanfic. After all, that's what's really important right? Reading fiction by aspiring authors and sharing ideas and just generally having a good time. I know that a lot of you are eagerly awaiting the promised follow-up to my first fic, and this is it.  
  
I really enjoyed writing Heroes of Time. So much in fact, that, about halfway through, I decided to expand the story into a trilogy, and possibly further. The second story in the Heroes Trilogy is called Heroes' Fall, for reasons which will become apparent. I promise.  
  
Well, as we saw in Heroes of Time, the Master Sword was stolen and the Kingdom of Hyrule almost destroyed, though, in the end, our two main characters managed to set things aright. Heroes' Fall begins a year after the events of its prelude, in media res., and then flashes back to the - well, you'll see.  
  
I'd like to thank all those who responded to my first fic so positively. Seriously, you people are awesome.  
  
Once again, this is a work of complete fiction. Any similarities to persons or events living or dead, past or present are the result of excessive amounts of chemical stimulants on the part of the reader. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.  
  
  
  
Alone a kingdom stands, across the sea,  
  
Surrounded by mountains.  
  
Long have we sought this land, a place  
  
Where we may prosper, and be free.  
  
He will lead us there, to make that place our own,  
  
To live as free people, not as animals,  
  
And regain what glory we lost long ago,  
  
And reap the rewards that we have sown.  
  
Follow; follow the three-pointed star,  
  
And unite the land under our Lord,  
  
To become more than what we are.  
  
Coughlian Chant, circa 839 A.U.  
  
It was the early hours of the morning, after the moon had set, but before the rising of the sun. The only light came from the distant stars, which barely illuminated the scene on the ground below. Cautiously, a figure clad in black was sprinting across the muddied ground, boots making scarcely a sound on the cold rainwater and dirt. Dark hair streamed out behind him, and a sword rested against his back, and, in the strategic movement of a cloud, weather-beaten skin and dark green eyes flashed once, and then the shape darted over a rise, vanishing into the shadows.  
  
Of course, that was entirely the point. Weuin Thar knew this. He was very good at keeping out of sight of the enemy, whether soldier or spy; it didn't matter. The young guard-turned-warrior flattened on the ground, not even breathing as he heard a slight rustle overhead. It very well might have been only a stay leaf blown in the wind, or one of the remaining friendly birds in Hyrule, but Weiun didn't take any chances when something so important was at stake.  
  
The half-sound passed, and the young man raised his head, scanning the horizon for more. As he did so, his gaze alighted on his ultimate goal. Perfect, he thought, and I didn't even have to use force to get through the lines. That in and of itself was an accomplishment, considering the sheer numbers and alertness of the Coughlian Army. Getting to his feet, Weiun dashed for the half-buried bunker, pressing against the door and tapping lightly. A crack in the door appeared, and a pair of intense blue eyes stared out from the darkness. After a glance at Weuin, they retreated, and the door opened just long enough for him to slip inside before it closed.  
  
"Did you get the message through?" a male voice asked from the black.  
  
"Before I tell you anything, I want some light. I can't see my hand in from of my face."  
  
There was a slight chuckle. "Very well." In another moment, a flame flickered into existence, and lit a candle.  
  
It took a moment for Weiun's eyes to adjust from the darkness, before he took in the small table, the stools, and the five people sitting on them. One was a man in his late middle age, a silver beard covering a face lined with age and worry, kept in place only by a golden circlet. King Gaerdon and his daughter, the golden-haired Princess Zelda, were bent over a map of the countryside, with various items representing armies positioned around it. Two of the Sheikah, the bodyguards of the Royal Family, sat close by, weapons in easy reach. The leader of the Gerudos, Nabooru, stood silently in a corner, the customary scowl adorning her face. The final person sitting was the man who had let Weiun in. Tousled blonde hair fell almost to his shoulders, a sacred sword was slung across his back, and a red scar ran from his right eyebrow to the left side of his nose. The Hero of Time smiled slightly, and gestured to the last empty stool.  
  
"Light for hopeful tidings, I hope," he said, leaning back.  
  
"Hopeful may be stretching it, but they are certainly better than they were last week," the warrior answered. "Girth and his men have broken through the front lines, with little loss, and stand ready for the coordinated attack tomorrow. He would also like to inform us that the enemy has split its forces, sending one a few hundred yards to the south. If we can attack that group, we could drive them to the cliffs."  
  
Link gave a genuine smile that time. "Excellent work, Corporal. Now we may finally have a chance."  
  
  
  
It hadn't taken Weiun long to fall asleep on the only straw pallet in the main room of the bunker. Of course, Link didn't mind in the least. After his performance that night - well, early morning, the kid certainly deserved it.  
  
The King had retired to his quarters, and Nabooru was on watch. The Hero of Time leaned heavily against one of the earthen walls, trying desperately to stay awake. He had to stay awake, as much as he wanted to sleep. Drowsing at this point would only make him weary in the morning.  
  
Link let out a long sigh. This is it, he thought. After nearly a year of war, tomorrow could be the day when we drive the Coughlians from our shores. Or the day that we lose everything.  
  
Zelda say down, snuggling up against him, her head resting on his shoulder. Link smiled inwardly, putting his arm around her.  
  
"You should get some sleep, my dear," he whispered. "We have much that needs to be done tomorrow."  
  
"I'm not tired," the Princess said with a large yawn. "Besides, I couldn't get to sleep even it I was, not with the end to this hellish war finally in sight." She bit her lip nervously, eyes flicking to the bolted door. "And I want to stay alert, just in case one of them tries to get in again."  
  
"I wouldn't let them get near you if they did," Link said, "you know that. That is a promise."  
  
Zelda grimaced. "Even you cannot protect everyone form everything, Link, so stop trying. In case you don't remember," she added with a gesture to the blade that hung at her side, "I have been known to take care of myself."  
  
"I know," the young man replied. "But I can't help it if I don't want to lose you again."  
  
The Princess looked into his eyes, smiling warmly. "You won't."  
  
"That's what I love about you," Link said, kissing her lightly on the forehead. "You are the sturdy staff I lean on, the one who keeps me sane these days, then our lives seem so crazy."  
  
"Don't say that Link," she replied, shuddering. "You mustn't count on a frightened girl, not when so much hangs in the balance."  
  
"As a rebellion once counted to heavily on a frightened boy?" the hero asked pointedly. "I am as scared as you, if not more so, but we must give each other strength." Link grinned. "We must remember what we have to live for."  
  
Zelda smiled back. "You, at least, must stay alive long enough to help restore our country. Then, I think there will be a matter between the two of us that will need setting."  
  
Link leaned back against the wall of the bunker, trying to get comfortable despite the Master Sword sheathed on his back. "Not to worry, my Princess," he said. "I fully intend to see that matter through." He took in a deep breath, glancing at the door. "It really is a shame that we cannot risk windows. I'm sure that it's a very beautiful night out."  
  
Of a sudden, there was a window in the earthen bunker, a rather large one, in fact. Through it could be seen the stars of the night sky, which glittered in the dark blue velvet. Unfortunately, Link didn't notice this, as he was too busy scrabbling to his feet to face the nightmare whose arm reached through the gaping hole it had ripped in the wall.  
  
The beast was enormous. The shaggy black forearm nearly reached the two heroes from where it thrust through the remains of the wall. As the arm pulled back, Link caught a glimpse of two blazing red eyes before the thing started hammering on the wall, trying to break the wooden hold and weak havoc and death. Its howls echoed sharply through the bunker, bringing Nabooru sharply to her feet and the Sheikah from the King's side to protect the Princess.  
  
Link was ahead of them. As soon as he had drawn the Master Sword, he rushed toward the monstrosity, yelling a harsh battle cry. He struck the thing's wrist with all his strength, the sacred blade biting deep and blood pooling on the ground.  
  
The beast wailed, and there was a flash of teeth that the young hero managed to barely avoid as he leaped back from the opening. With another burst of gargantuan strength, the black thing burst through the wall, saliva hanging from bared fangs, and launched itself at the Hero of Time. Link brought the sword up again, narrowly escaping getting torn limb from limb by the rending talons on the things paws. The Wraith kept hammering the young man's defenses, bellowing in frustration and anger. Ever time one of the others made to interfere, Link waved them back frantically, afraid that it would only result in further destruction. At one of these moments, the creature caught Link in the shoulder, and sent him flying into the wall. The hero struggled to regain his footing, only to dive in between the legs of the Wraith to avoid having his torn from his shoulders. Delivering a quick strike to the beast's unprotected haunches, Link bolted from the bunker to the relatively larger range of movement provided by the blackened Steppes of Iaord. As he had hoped, the Coughlian monstrosity followed.  
  
Turning sharply, Link leapt into the air, sword arcing down to deliver a cleaving blow the enraged Wraith. But even as he plummeted downward, the thing struck up with its claws, catching the Master Sword and sending it spinning from Link's grasp as the hero was flung to the ground.  
  
The beast snarled appreciatively, a giant foot resting on the young man's chest as its lips curled back, ropey saliva dripping form the jagged fangs. It lowered its head, clearly savoring its moment of victory. Luckily for Link, this gave him just enough time to pull forth the dagger that lay sheathed in his boot, and hamstring the Wraith with one swift stroke.  
  
If it had been the leg that held the Hero of Time down, the force of the beast falling to one knee would have crushed Link. However, what it did do was offer enough respite from the pressure to allow the hero to heave up suddenly, and roll out from under the Wraith, sprinting toward the Master Sword that lay point-down in the barren soil. The hero yanked it out, turning once again to face the beast that struggled to stand. A slight breeze stirred the Hero of Time's hair as the two fighters faced each other, and a slight smile crossed Link' face. He strode slowly toward the creature of horror, knuckles turning white as they clenched the hilt of the Master Sword. The Wraith let out a roar; not of victory or rage this time, but one of defiance, and lunged forward, claws extended -  
  
And stopped in mid-lunge, a look of bewilderment on its hideous face, and looked down at its chest. The sacred blade of Hyrule had bit deep into its flesh, draining the life from it. It staggered once, then slumped forward.  
  
There was a final stir of movement from the beast as Link dragged himself out from under it, the Master Sword red in his hands. He leaned heavily on the sword, breathing deeply as the others who gathered around him were shooed back by Princess Zelda.  
  
"Are you alright?" she asked, looking intently at the Hero of Time, scanning for broken bones or gashes.  
  
"I'm fine," the young man said between pants. "I just hope that was the last Wraith they have to throw against us."  
  
"I wouldn't count on that," Zelda replied, helping Link upright. "If there is one thing the Coughlians have been consistent in, it's been to manage to outguess us at every turn, on ever matter. They wouldn't waste all of their precious Wraiths during a paltry eight months of battle."  
  
Link nodded, walking slowly back to the bunker. "And to think, it hasn't even been a year since this started, yet it seems like centuries." He looked at the pale streaks of gold in the sky, and then turned back to Zelda. "But you haven't changed a bit."  
  
The Hero of Time sat heavily on the earthen floor, reaching into his bag of holding for a rag to clean the Master Sword. With his other hand, he wiped the sweat from his brow, adding dirt to the perspiration. Zelda sat down in a chair, looking again at he chart on the table. The Sheikah and Nabooru were working on a jury-rig to temporarily repair the shattered wall.  
  
King Gaerdon looked at Link, shaking his head. "My boy, I never cease to wonder at what you are capable of. If my force were ten times larger without you fighting with it, I would not feel as confident as I do now with you in command of the left wing."  
  
The younger man frowned. "But sire, I am only commander of the tenth division, no the entire left wing of the army."  
  
The King of Hyrule raised his silver eyebrows. "I'm afraid I'll have to disagree, Sir Link. The northern half of the army is your to lead. Trust in yourself Link," the king said before link could object again, "as Zelda and I trust in you." A smile creased his worn face. "Good luck tomorrow."  
  
With a final pat on the shoulder, King Gaerdon returned to his quarters, the Sheikah taking up posts at the door.  
  
Link glanced at Zelda, who was again going over one of the charts balanced haphazardly on the table, and then out the window.  
  
"There's about three hours 'till first light," he commented to the Princess. "it would be a good idea to try to get some sleep."  
  
Zelda looked at him and smiled wearily. "Of course, I don't suppose you'll take your own advice. But," her smile changed slightly, "if you insist." She rose, stretched, and walked over to Link, lying down beside him.  
  
The hero stretched out on the floor and put his arm around her. After all, he had to make sure she was warm.  
  
The Princess rolled over slightly, and decided to use his chest as a pillow. Link smiled slightly and stroked her hair. At such times, when there was not a care in the world for either of them, he could almost remember the time before the Conquest Wars, as the soldiers were calling the conflict. It seemed so long ago. . .  
  
"It seems so long ago." Princess Zelda remarked, entering the gardens. "So long that I feel I've known you my whole life."  
  
Link nodded. "It has been the better part of eleven years. More if you count the time travel in between." He took deep breath, the scent of the innumerable types of floral art pieces carried through the garden by a slight breeze. "It does seem an eternity since first we met. Unfortunately," the young man added with a glance at the late afternoon sun, "the time that I spend with you passes all too quickly."  
  
"Yes," Zelda agreed with a small frown. "That is rather annoying. Oh well," she said dismissively, taking Link's hand, "I guess we'll have to do something about that."  
  
"Such as?" Link's curiosity was piqued.  
  
The Princess grinned impishly. "I hoped you would ask. Now, I've already asked father about it, and he thinks it's a perfectly good idea. I don't want it to seem like I'm rushing things, but I was wondering if you would like to come live in the castle."  
  
The shock must have registered on Link's face.  
  
"Oh, I don't mean to ask you to share my chambers - just yet. There are plenty of rooms kept up for guests and the like, and one of them could easily be turned into a permanent abode." Zelda paused, squeezing Link's hand slightly. "I'm not asking for a decision now. Just for you to think about it."  
  
The youth bit his lip. "Are you sure that I wouldn't be intruding?"  
  
"Intruding?" the Princess laughed. "We invited you. Of course you wouldn't be intruding. Besides, everything would be so much easier, especially what with - well, in the near future, it might be a good idea if you were closer to - to me."  
  
Link reached out, stroked Zelda's cheek, and smiled. "Then I need not think overlong. I will come and live in the castle."  
  
"Are you sure?" Zelda asked, her eyes sparkling. "I mean, I don't want to force you into anything."  
  
The young man leaned forward, kissing the Princess on the forehead. "I'm sure. After all, ever since Malon's husband moved to Lon Lon, I've been feeling like a fifth wheel around the ranch."  
  
Zelda flung her arms around him, squeezing him tight, and whispered in his ear: "I love you."  
  
"In that case, don't throttle me so hard," Link said with a laugh. "I won't do you much good if I can't breath."  
  
Zelda put on a look of mock-shock. "Your words are sharp you young scamp, and they fall upon my ears with terrible crashes, like rolling thunder." She tossed a hand to her forehead. "I think I might faint." The Princess fell backward, and Link caught her easily, scooping her up.  
  
"Oh dear, what have I done?" he cried, a mischievous smile on his face. "I must take Her Royal Highness to the physician, for she is not well at all. I must make haste!" Link dashed toward the castle, as Zelda laughed uncontrollably.  
  
He set her down as he reached the gate to the Royal Gardens. "If I am to move, I must go and get all my belongings," Link said, buckling on shield and sword. "I should be back later tonight or tomorrow, for I must make one last stop at my old home before I leave the forest for good."  
  
"Just make sure to hurry back," Zelda urged. "With your presence, we would both have an excuse to miss the dinner for the Ambassador. And I desperately want to miss it."  
  
"As you wish, Zelda." Link gave her a smile, and vanished from the gardens.  
  
It was nearly completely dark when Link finally left Lon Lon Ranch with his few possessions tucked neatly away in his bag of holding. He sighed inwardly, wishing that he still had to Ocarina of Time. The Royal Treasure would make it much more expedient to get to the Deku Tree and back, but after the incident with the Master Sword, the Royal Family was taking no chances. Zelda carried the instrument at all times, as Link himself perpetually bore Hyrule's sacred blade. As it was, he would have to make do with Epona and arrive back at the castle sometime the next day.  
  
The young man frowned slightly to himself. It had been nearly a year since he had entered the Kokiri Forest, and that had only been to venture into the Lost Woods. He felt a slight pang of guilt at not visiting them more often, and a larger one that he had not even contacted Saria for such a long time. Mido had probably forgotten all about the Hylian that had been raised in their midst, or at least tried to make the other Kokiri do so. Link's frown deepened. He and Mido had never got on well.  
  
The young man left the silver-mained mare outside at the bridge. She and the Kokiri Forest had never got on well either.  
  
As Link crossed the bridge into the magical forest, he paused for a moment. None of the sounds that he had grown used to during his years among the Kokiri were to be heard. A thick, almost tangible silence had blanketed the forest, shutting out the sound of all living things. Link started forward again, worry beginning to enter his mind as to what could have happened to his friends. The moon had risen, and gave a soft glow to the bent trees that stood guard over the entrance to the Kokiri village. Most of the houses had been erected in the branches, some even fashioned carefully from the trees themselves, with planked wooden walkways connecting them. It seemed that nothing had changed.  
  
As Link stepped into the clearing, he was greeted by the pointed ends of several bows and arrows, surrounding him even before his had stopped moving. The youth raised his hands slowly.  
  
"I come as known friend and companion," he said to the archers. "You know me, though you may not remember a young boy who was sent to live among you. I am Link, and I have returned."  
  
The bows raised, and Link could make out the faces. Saria was standing directly in front of him, and next to her were Kiff and Chaun, the Know-it-all brothers. The twins, Mira and Feon stood to his right, next to a rather tall (as Kokiri go) youth with bent bow and a short sword at his waist. Saria broke into a smile.  
  
"I'm so glad that you're here!" she cried, leaping up and hugging Link around the neck, as a child would cling to a father. "It's been far too long since you came to the Forest."  
  
"I know," Link said, hugging her back and putting her down. "And I'm sorry for that, but I'm here now."  
  
The others shook hands and embraced him, as was their wont, in turn. When Link came to the sword - girthed youth, he gripped the surprisingly strong hand, and recognized the figure with a stifled gasp. "Mido!" he exclaimed. "I didn't recognize you at first."  
  
The Kokiri chieftain smiled. He had changed a great deal. He no longer held himself with the smug arrogance that Link had been so used to. His shoulders were broader, and his frame more slender, and there was a kindness in his face that suited him well. "No Link, but I knew who you were. It's not often one forgets the face of the Hero of Time."  
  
"Not anymore," the young man said. "Ganondorf was finally killed; the great threat to Hyrule has vanished, with only the shadowy remnants remaining." Link shrugged. "Heroes are no longer needed; merely stouthearted men and women to protect the people from mortal fallacy."  
  
"And yet, Link of Hyrule still bears the Master Sword, a sign itself that evil is never completely gone," came the good-natured reply.  
  
Link laughed. "Yes, even as Mido of the Kokiri bears the Blade of the Forest in order to protect those who dwell here in peace."  
  
Mido's face turned suddenly solemn, and the others mirrored him. "All of us protect the Forest now, with Kokiri Sword or well-shot bow. I cannot tell you much now. We must get inside."  
  
An idea entered Link's mind. "If none of you have any objections, my old house is the highest off the ground, and the most easily defended."  
  
Saria nodded. "Good thinking, as always my friend."  
  
A short while later, the entirety of the Kokiri village was packed into Link's old house. Link himself sat easily on the table, having to bend over to not bump his head on the beams of the ceiling. Mido was standing in the center of the room, surveying the placement of the last of the child-sized Forest Dwellers. The Kokiri chieftain had changed incredibly since Link had left the Forest nearly eleven years earlier, growing more mature and responsible, though not looking an honest day older.  
  
Link looked again at the close rafters in the place that he had once lived, realizing how much he had changed, and how different he must look. It left him hollow somehow to know that, when he and Zelda were dead, and the Hylian race but a distant memory, Saria, Mido, and the other Kokiri would all look the same as they did now.  
  
Once the Kokiri had been settled, squeezed on the bed, two in each chair, and packed on the floor, Mido started speaking, mostly to Link, the young man suspected, telling of what had happened to warrant an armed force of defenders to be on patrol at all times.  
  
"As most of you may or may not know," the chieftain began, "two weeks ago, the village came under attack by a force of. . . well, we don't really know who they were."  
  
"What?" Link asked, astonished. "But, every hostile species and faction has been identified for years."  
  
"That's just it: we don't know who they were. I'd have said that they were members of the Black Knights of Armos, but, for starters, they weren't in the dress black armor. And they're swords were different," Mido added. "Not the tulwars that the Armos use, but big and broad, like a Hylian blade, only thicker. Even then, I might have mistaken them for Black Knights, as things have changed so drastically in the past few years. But what really got me, was that they didn't speak Armosian."  
  
The young man facing him frowned. "What language did they speak?"  
  
The Kokiri shrugged. "I don't know. I made sure to learn every dialect spoken from Termina to the farthest reaches of the Gerudo Desert in the last four hundred years, but what they said, and clearly, might I add, was not in a single one. Not even related, as far as I could tell."  
  
Link's frown deepened. "That is indeed worth investigation. Of course, it does make a little sense. Even the if Black Knights of Armos gathered together in their entirety, they wouldn't be strong enough to take the Forest." He paused, a look of horror crossing his face. "Would they?"  
  
Mido laughed humorlessly. "I should think not. These strangers weren't able to accomplish the task either."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Well, we all really have Saria to thank for our lives," Mido said with a strange look at the emerald-haired Kokiri girl. "If it weren't for her. . ." He shook his head, gathering his thoughts. "I think she should be the one to tell the story."  
  
Saria pursed her lips, then began slowly. "Well, I was on one of my late-night walks, when I heard hoofbeats coming from the western edge of the Forest. At first, I took them to be yours, and rushed toward the sound. But before I got far, I realized that there were far more horses than one, and raced back to the village. When I told Mido, he ordered all of us to arm ourselves with whatever we could. I grabbed a bow and quiver just as the soldiers rode into the clearing." She faltered, a slight shiver running through her. "After that, I don't really remember much."  
  
"It was touch and go for a bit there," said Mido, coming to her rescue, "but Saria kept her head, just picking soldiers from their saddles, calm as you please. Some of us got into trees; others were racing along the tree walkways, shooting when we could. A group was trapped on the hill, surrounded, but Saria managed to rally a group of us to give them enough covering fire to escape, while keeping our own backs covered at the same time." He gave Saria an admiring glance. "She really held us together."  
  
Saria blushed. "Yes, well, that didn't do much good in the long run. We were still outnumbered at least two to one, and the soldiers were getting it into their heads to set fires to the trees, or cut them down. We didn't gain the upper hand until Mido mustered a group of pikebearers led them in a sortie against the horsemen. Even the huge men with their cruel blades didn't stand up to him as he wielded the Kokiri Sword." Link, watching the girl closely, noticed how her eyes shone as she said this, and smiled to himself. He remembered when a mere glance from Zelda had evoked that reaction from him.  
  
"Well, after that," Mido continued, "the survivors broke and ran. We let them escape figuring that they would think twice before attacking again. However, we set guard and patrols just in case." He smiled at Link apologetically. "You'll have to forgive me, but when we first saw you, we thought you were one of them."  
  
"You were only doing your job," Link said with a bittersweet grin. "I'n not exactly the same person I was the last time I was here." He paused, remembering a quote from a friend, long ago. "I might not have even recognized myself."  
  
"I'm afraid that's all I can tell you," Mido said after the accounts were concluded. "All I know for sure is that we face an unknown threat, one that may possible strike again. I was going to go and ask the Great Deku Tree for advice myself." He looked at Link, raising his eyebrows. "If you'd like, you could accompany me."  
  
"The Great Deku Tree?" Link said, puzzled. "I know that the trees re- grow quickly in this forest, but the Great Deku Tree only perished eleven years ago."  
  
Mido laughed. "You've been away from the forest for too long, Link. The energy released when Ganondorf was sent to the Evil Realm, the same energy that helped rebuild that which was destroyed in Hyrule, also gave energy to the Deku Sprout. In a few short years, it has already become as large and wise as it was before the sanctity of the Forest was disturbed by the Evil One."  
  
Link shook his head ruefully. "I have been away too long. Very well," he continued, adjusting the Master Sword so that it rode more comfortably on his back, "I'll come with you to see the Great Deku Tree. I have a question or two to ask him myself."  
  
The last time that Link had been to see the patriarch of the Forest, the narrow valley that led to the tree had been filled with plant-like creatures, small, but vicious. However, this time, there was nothing to bar the way to the Great Deku Tree. The two warriors, one with the Blade of the Forest strapped to his baldric, the other with the Sacred Blade of Hyrule on his back, both clad in emerald green, approached the gigantic arboreal being.  
  
As the two neared, the tree stirred, and opened its great eyes. In a deep, commanding voice, he spoke. "Greetings Mido, Chieftain of the Kokiri, and greetings too to you, Link, Hero of Time. It has been long since last we spoke."  
  
The young man bowed deeply. "My apologies Great Deku Tree. I should have come sooner."  
  
The Guardian of the Forest smiled. "Do not concern yourself with it. All is forgiven. But I see worry on your brow hero, and on yours Mido. What troubles two such worldly warriors?"  
  
"I believe you know a part of it already, Great Deku Tree," Mido answered. "The village was attacked by a forces unknown to us or Link the other day. I have come to ask you if your knowledge can help us."  
  
The Great Deku Tree heaved a heavy sigh. "I do indeed know of the attack on the Forest, young chieftain. I also believe that I know who is responsible for it."  
  
"Who?" Link and Mido asked as one.  
  
"Alas, the force behind it is one that I had thought to be gone more than twenty years ago, in the Great War that nearly sundered Hyrule. It was the forces of a man named Korvin Ralkeen. Long ago he formed a syndicate known as the Divinity of Coughl, centered on what he claimed to be a twisted form of the holy Tri Force. Followers flocked to him, pledging allegiance to what they thought would be the ultimate chance for power and knowledge. There was fought a mighty conflict in Hyrule, when the Unification was almost undone, and the country split in twain. Eventually, the forces of a much younger King Gaerdon drove the Coughlians from the shores of Hyrule, and it was thought that they would perish on the sea, or sunder when they reached the lands that lie in the Beyond."  
  
"They didn't, and grew stronger," Link stated bitterly.  
  
"That is the sad truth, Hero of Time," the Guardian said softly. "I imagine that over the years, Korvin Ralkeen has been rebuilding his army, and now thinks Hyrule ripe for the plundering."  
  
"That's it!" Link exclaimed, hitting his head with his palm.  
  
"What?" Mido and the Deku Tree asked, surprised.  
  
"When I faced the twisted version of myself, forty years in the future when we went after the Master Sword, he told me of a massive, unstoppable force that conquered the Hyrule of his timeline. When he did, something happened. It was almost as though I could see him, in his mind, and what happened that day. It was Hyrule Castle, overrun and destroyed, Zelda dead in his arms, and behind him, at the head of the advancing army was the Tri Force, only darkened, burned, and turned wrong-side down."  
  
The Guardian of the Forest nodded, as much as a tree can nod, in agreement. "Yes, that was the Inver Force that led the Coughlian army, the symbol that they bore on their banners more than two decades ago. It must have been them who took your future self's future from him, and made him into an agent of Evil."  
  
A Black cloud passed over the clearing, blotting out the sun, and thunder roared in the distance. "Quick," the Deku Tree boomed, "they are coming again. Warn the Forrest and your people, Chieftain of the Kokiri, and you Link, you must return and tell the King of what you have learned." Lightning split the sky above, and rain began to fall. "Go!" the Guardian urged Link, as Mido raced for the Kokiri Village. "If Hyrule's Royal Seat does not stand ready, the country will fall into blackness, and it's hero might suffer the fate of one whom he vanquished."  
  
Link's eyes grew wide, and he raced after Mido, legs pumping with all the speed he could muster, desperate to reach Zelda and King Gaerdon in time. And above it all loomed a shadow that had not been there before, something that Link had secretly feared for almost a year: the possibility that the Hero of Time might become what he fought against.  
  
Link ran as fast as he could, easily overtaking Mido as the Kokiri raced toward the village. "Mido!" he called out, matching the sprinting Kokiri's stride. "Promise me that you will try to keep them all alive. Not matter what, not matter how much time you think Hyrule needs, your first priority is to keep your people safe!"  
  
"Are you sure?" Mido asked, his face drawn in puzzlement.  
  
"Yes," the young man answered. "Buy as much time as you can, but only fight when you have to. There's no reason for you or any of the Kokiri to die."  
  
Mido nodded somberly. "Link - Link, I'm sorry for how I acted before. If there's anything that I can do to make it up. . ."  
  
Link looked back, giving him a small smile. "Just take care of Saria, and take care of yourself."  
  
"You have my word." Mido gave him a sharp salute, and turned to the Village Square. Link picked up speed, hurtling over the plank bridge, and leaping on to the back of Epona, who began to gallop before his feet were even secured in the stirrups.  
  
Wind whistled past the hero's face as the silver-mained steed dashed across Hyrule Field. One thing had lodged itself in the fore of Link's Mind: to reach Hyrule Castle in time to warn Zelda, and the Hylian soldiers of the threat that had returned. If it was possible that the one reason for his future self becoming so viciously evil was losing Zelda, his home, and all his friends. . . Link shook his mind, trying to focus on the task at hand. He had to get back, and they had to be ready to fight when the time came.  
  
As Epona galloped across the grassy plain, a thought jolted through Link's mind, and he pulled the reins sharply to the left, changing heading toward Lon Lon Ranch. Epona jumped the fence easily, and Link leaped off the horse, running to the cottage door, and rapped on the oaken door.  
  
The door swung inward, and the crimson-haired Malon peered curiously at the hero. "Link?" she asked, puzzled. "What are you doing back? You should have been at the castle by now."  
  
"I'm sorry to intrude," Link said, removing his cap, "but there is an urgent matter that I think deserves your and your husband's attention."  
  
Malon frowned, opening the door so that Link could enter. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Well," Link began, glancing around nervously before he stepped inside, "I think you should get your husband. He needs to hear this too."  
  
"Right. Dear!" the young woman called to the back of the cottage. "Link's here, and he has something important to tell us. You really should hear it. Go ahead and sit down," she said to Link, pointing at the table in the center of the room.  
  
"Be right there!" a voice called back. In another moment, a man of about twenty trotted down the stairs, and sat down next to his wife, giving her a peck on the cheek, and turned to Link. "Good to see you again," he said with a smile.  
  
"It's good to see you too, Weiun," Link replied, shaking the Guard's hand.  
  
"So," Thar continued, "what brings you here? Am I being called back to active duty?"  
  
"Not necessarily," the Hero of Time answered. "I doubt that King Gaerdon would smile upon me interrupting you in the middle of your honeymoon." Link glanced around the room again. "Now, this will be quite an earful."  
  
The young man launched into an explanation of what Mido had told him of the attacking soldiers and what the Great Deku Tree had told both of them of the Great War more than twenty years ago. When he was finished, he sat back, awaiting their reactions.  
  
Weiun Thar pursed his lips. "It seems to me that Hyrule will need all of her soldiers on active duty."  
  
Link shrugged. "I didn't want to ask it of you, my friend. Help of any kind, and yours especially, is most welcome. Either way, I think that it would be a good idea if you, Malon, Talon, and Ingo were to move to Hyrule Castle, just in case."  
  
Malon nodded. "I'll tell father and Ingo right away, and we'll be on our way as soon as possible."  
  
"Good," said Link with a smile. "I really need to leave so that this information will reach the king in time. Good luck to all of you." With that, that young man exited the cottage, leapt on the mare, and was gone.  
  
Weiun turned to Malon, a half-smile on his face. "I wonder sometimes if that man ever stops."  
  
Malon looked after the Hero of Time for a moment, seemingly lost in her own thoughts, then answered. "No, I don't think he does."  
  
At that same moment, the soldiers of Coughl were in the midst of a second attack on the Kokiri Village. Mido held the silvan warriors together, Link's words running through his mind, and wondered if Hyrule did indeed stand a chance against this new threat. If anyone can pull this off, he thought, Link can.  
  
Link reined Epona up at the gates of the castle at sunset of the same day. After stabling his steed, he made the familiar way to the keep itself, giving the cursory wave to Girth as the swarthy youth raised the portcullis to let the older man pass. Before long, he was striding to the chamber of Princess Zelda, a terrible message caught in his throat. When he reached the door, the hero gave three sharp taps on the oak.  
  
"Come in," came the voice through the door.  
  
Link opened the door a crack, glancing in. "Zelda? There's something I really need to talk to you about. I thought that I would come here before I told King Gaerdon, as I promised to be back much sooner than this."  
  
"Link!" the Princess cried, jerking the door open, pulling him in, and squeezing the hero around the middle. "I began to get worried when you weren't back this morning, but I don't think that father would have let me escape the Ambassador's dinner, though I don't think much came of it in any case." She finally let go, allowing Link to breathe. "Father hasn't told me the particulars, but I don't think he and Sir Ralkeen got along very well."  
  
Link's eyes went wide. "Sir who?"  
  
"Ralkeen," the Princess answered. "Korvin Ralkeen. Why? Do you know him?"  
  
The Hero of Time bit his lip, brow creeping forward in a frown. "You could say that. Zelda," he said, taking her hand, "I think that we need to talk to your father right away."  
  
"Why so soon?" Zelda asked as Link hurried down the hallway to the throne room. "After all, you just got back."  
  
"When I went to see the Great Deku Tree, I ran into Mido, Saria, and the Kokiri that I stayed with for ten years, and I found out something that scares me. More than anything has scared me before."  
  
"For the Goddesses' sake Link, would you stop speaking in riddles and tell me what has gotten you so wound up?"  
  
"I'd be happy to," the young man answered, "but we need to speak to King Gaerdon about it as well." He could tell that Zelda was about to ask another question, but she never had the chance, because at that moment, they reached the door to the Royal Seat of Hyrule. Link and Zelda strode in, making sure that the king and his two bodyguards were the only ones present, and shut and barred the doors.  
  
King Gaerdon gave Link a very stern look. "If I didn't know you so well, my boy, I would demand to know what makes you barge into the throne room and lock us in. However, since you have more than proven yourself enough to deserve the benefit of the doubt, I will merely ask you why."  
  
"Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, I have very disturbing news." Link took a deep breath, and began to tell them everything that had happened in the Kokiri Forest. When he finished, the king's brow was knitted in deep thought, and Zelda had a very strange look on her face.  
  
"Link," she said at last, "do you know what that means?"  
  
The hero nodded. "It means that the soldiers will be training harder, and we'll have to double your sword lessons per day." He sat down beside her, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "It also means that - "  
  
But he was interrupted midsentance by an echoing boom on the door to the Throne Room, followed by the distant shouting of his name. The hero sighed. "That'll be Weiun," he said, turning to the king. "I told him it might be a good idea for him, Malon, and the others at Lon Lon to stay at the castle, just in case. And if I know the Great Deku Tree, he's sent that obnoxious owl of his across Hyrule with a message for those who cannot fight to get behind stone walls or in deep caves."  
  
"Go ahead and let him in," King Gaerdon said with a wave of his hand.  
  
Before Link could rise from his seat, Rith, the dark-haired Sheikah Guard had already reached the door and was lifting the bar to let the soldier inside.  
  
"Sorry I'm late, Link," Weiun said breathlessly. "I left nearly after you did, but Epona must be the fastest horse in Hyrule." He glanced momentarily around at those seated and standing in the center of the room. "Right, what did I miss?"  
  
Whatever he had missed, it had only been told to a select few. Aside from the golden-haired Princess and the intense, blue-eyed Guardian of Hyrule, there were only three others present. The man sitting in the throne had a brow lined by age and worry, steel gray hair, and the crown that proclaimed his rank, though Weiun would have known the King Gaerdon in any garb or guise, such was the ruler's commanding nature.  
  
The other two, however, Weiun did not know. They were garbed in the crimson, blue, and white of the Sheikah, and each carried a longsword across the right shoulder and, if Thar knew anything about the Sheikah, several weapons hidden from view. The bodyguards had lowered their hoods, which was nearly unheard of while on duty.  
  
The man had dark hair, dark eyes, and sharp features. The woman was slightly shorter, fairer, and had hair of light silver. Both were eyeing Weiun with the same polite curiosity that a cat might bestow upon a mouse.  
  
"You didn't miss anything," Link said, snapping Weiun back to his earlier question. "I told them what I relayed to you at the ranch." The hero's eyes followed Thar's gaze, and he gave a short laugh. "Forgive me. This is Rith and Saral," said he, gesturing to the Sheikah. "You might know King Gaerdon. Your majesty, this is Weiun Thar, Brigade Lieutenant, and currently excused from active duty for his honeymoon."  
  
"Ah yes," the king said smiling. "You must be the one who saved Rith's life when the forces of evil attacked the Temple of Time. I thank you."  
  
The guard's mouth hung open as the king of Hyrule clasped his hand, and the Sheikah guard bowed deeply to him. As the king strode back to the chair, a stray memory clicked: the assault of the Black Knights of Armos, the wounded warrior with sharp, dark eyes, and the thrust that had felled the knight about to cleave him in two.  
  
"You're welcome," Weiun managed at last. Then he snapped back to his senses, and came smartly to attention. "Lieutenant Weiun Thar reporting back to active duty sir!" he said. "I respectfully ask how I may contribute to the defensive effort."  
  
King Gaerdon returned the salute before sitting back down. "Welcome back Lieutenant. You will be informed of your duties before the day is done. At ease," he added, "and have a seat. We may be here for a while yet."  
  
Weiun nodded, taking a seat next to Link. "Did you tell her?" he whispered, leaning over slightly. "About what this could mean?"  
  
Link shook his head. "She doesn't need to hear that. Not now. She has enough on her plate as heir to the throne without me to worry about."  
  
Thar scowled. "If you don't tell her, and them, then I will. You are the most important person to the people of Hyrule still living. They need you."  
  
The Hero of Time frowned slightly. "Right. If that's the way you put it. Excuse me, everyone," he said, standing up. "I will now come to the other serious point that this poses, one which may rival the enemy force itself." Link took a deep breath, steeling himself. "I've have never told this to anyone, though Zelda may have suspected it," he added somewhat guiltily. "When we went after the Master Sword, I confronted the one who had broken into the Temple of Time. He - he wounded Zelda sorely. . . she died in my arms. He then revealed to me that he had been, in his past, my future, Link, the Hero of Time. He told me of how he had lost his own love, his country, everyone he cared about to a force that was insurmountable. That it was that loss that drove him over the edge. I say this, because I will not share that fate, not ever." The hero paused again, for a long moment, then continued. "That is why, if I show any sign of turning, if Zelda is lost to me again, and is not brought back by the Goddesses. . . then I want you to make sure that I fall beside her."  
  
Zelda thought that her tongue had turned to lead. She tried several times to speak, but the words could not escape her throat. She wanted to scream, but something inside would not let her. She simply could not believe what she had heard, what Link had just asked the others to do, all because of her. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who thought it was insane.  
  
"Are you insane?" Weiun asked nearly standing up. "Do you have any idea what you're asking of us?"  
  
Link nodded. "Yes, I know what I'm asking, and I know it won't be easy, but Hyrule cannot afford me as an enemy again, not when I can prevent it."  
  
"But Link, you are Hyrule! What. . . what chance can we ever have without you?" Weiun looked exactly like Zelda felt. "You are the one person who has pulled out of the dark, and people need that!"  
  
The Princess's beloved shook his head. "You're wrong, Weiun," he said sadly. "I am not the beating heart of Hyrule. I am not the only one who has pulled the kingdom out of dark times. If I fall, other heroes will rise to the task. It's the nature of things. It's happened before, and it will happen again." He let out a long, silent, sigh. "I have thought on this, and I will not be a danger to any of the people I care about."  
  
At this Zelda finally managed to find her voice. "And have you thought of anyone who might miss you?" she nearly screamed. "What would I do if I were to lose you? Have you thought about that?" The Princess strode over to Link, looking him straight in the eye. "I don't ever want to lose you Link."  
  
"You won't," the Hero of Time said. "I give you my word."  
  
"You cannot promise me something like that! We are about to be besieged by a force we don't know if we can beat, we have only a limited time to find a way to mass our forces into a decent semblance of an army, and now you tell me that if I die, Hyrule will lose it's hero as well, because he is to afraid to face life without a single person? Your first duty is to the people, and you abandon them if you order this."  
  
"You don't know how hard it was to come to that decision, Zelda," Link whispered, taking a half step closer to her. "There is no other way. This is not an order," he said, addressing all the others in the room as well. "It is a request from a friend. I will not force any of you into this, but I will beg if necessary. I do not want to end up like the one I vanquished. I would rather die than know that I was responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people. You saw what he - what I did to Hyrule Zelda," he continued, turning to her. "Do you really want that to happen again?"  
  
"Of course not!" the Princess exclaimed. "But you can't do this to me! All of this depends on whether or not I live. You will, Link. You always pull through. You're a survivor, through and through. But I am not as strong as you are. In all likelihood, I will die. And where does that leave the rest of you?"  
  
The Hero of Time was silent for a moment, then a half-grin started to creep across his face. "In that case, we'll just have to make sure to keep you alive, not matter what."  
  
Zelda frowned. "What does that mean?"  
  
The grin widened, and Link placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come. I'll show you what I mean."  
  
As the two headed out of the throne room, Link paused next to the king. "Your Majesty," he whispered, "I think that Zelda and I should speak to you in private at your earliest convenience. You can find us in the armory."  
  
The armory of Hyrule Castle had been the second addition to the building, just after the keep itself, in the earlier days immediately after the Unification Wars. It had been built to act as a secondary barracks, a fallback shelter, and, most obviously, a place to store enough weapons to arm an army. Naturally, the armory of Hyrule Castle was very, very large.  
  
Dust motes danced down from the high slitted windows, drifting toward granite floor. The high ceilings made for a slightly daunting feel to the old building, and for a tremendous echoing effect. The latter was demonstrated exquisitely demonstrated by the harsh raps and snap of steel against steel, as two figures in warrior garb circled each other around the room.  
  
Zelda had bound her golden hair tightly in back with a leather thong, ignoring the cursory whisp that brushed into her field of vision. Link had shed the cap and baldric, a borrowed sword held lightly in his left hand. His sharp blue eyes studied the Princess's every move, gauging her skill, strength, and stamina, anticipating her next move. Had they not been doing this more of less regularly for the past year, she would have been slightly unnerved.  
  
Of course, she admitted, jerking her own practice sword to block one of Link's strokes that came from nowhere, the last two sessions had been much more intense. She blocked again, followed up with a stroke of her own, and ducked another blow. Link was determined to turn her into nothing short of a superb swordswoman. However, she thought bitterly, thinking back to her encounter with Link's twisted counterpart, there was precious little chance of him succeeding.  
  
"Good," Link said encouragingly, as Zelda bent over backwards to dodge and spun to attack in one fluid movement. "Don't think, feel your opponent. Keep eye contact. Use your elbows, not your shoulders. And, not matter what," he added, dropping horizontal, balancing and pivoting on one hand, and flicking her blade out of her hand as it cut through air, "expect the unexpected."  
  
Zelda sighed audibly as her sword sailed across the room to clatter on the stones next to the burning candle. "Glib, and a contradiction in terms. Thank you so much."  
  
"You're welcome," the hero answered with a smiled, approaching the candle, blowing it out, and holding it up for her inspection. "You lasted twenty minutes longer than your best practice. Congratulations."  
  
I'm still dead, Zelda thought of saying, but decided against it.  
  
A knock echoed through the room, and the door to the armory creaked open. "Princess Zelda," a guard said, coming to attention, "Sir Link, the king will see you now."  
  
"At ease soldier," Link said, replacing the practice swords and buckling on his baldric. "We're on our way, but I have to make a short stop first."  
  
"And what would that be?" Zelda asked as the pair headed for Link's chamber. "I hope it won't take too long. Father's expecting us."  
  
"Don't worry Zelda," Link said, opening the door and stepping inside. "I just need to give something to you that might just help." He strode over to a corner of the room, taking a carefully bound package from against the wall, and brought it to Zelda. "This is for you."  
  
The Princess gave him a quizzical look as she unwrapped the long package. As the bindings fell away, she looked upon the gift. In her hand, sheathed in supple leather, polished to mirror quality, was the Sword of the Old King.  
  
"I've been saving it for a while," the young man explained. "I did some digging in the library, but I couldn't find anything on it whatsoever, or the Old King who it belonged to. But you wield it well, so it may as well be yours."  
  
The Princess smiled, embracing him. "Thank you."  
  
"Well, my boy," said King Gaerdon as Link and Zelda sat down across from him at the table in his private study, "exactly what is it you want to talk to me about?"  
  
"Your Majesty," Link began, leaning forward, "I would like it very much if you could tell me as much about Coughl and Korvin Ralkeen as you know, as well as what transpired when you met him as an ambassador."  
  
The king seemed to slump slightly in his chair, and he was silent for a long time. "Korvin Ralkeen," he said after a long time. "He has always been something of a mystery to me. Long I held him as a close friend and compatriot, and we won many campaigns together. Over two decades ago, he and a few loyalists formed a. . . a homeless empire if you will. They called it the Divinity of Coughl, and claimed that it was the rightful order that ought to be governing Hyrule. Their belief was that Ralkeen had found something that would give them invincibility: they called it the Inver Force." King Gaerdon paused here, taking a long breath before continuing. "It was their banner, their emblem, the very thing on which their Divinity rested, and it gave them enough strength to throw the country into chaos.  
  
The king sighed heavily, eyes clouded with memory. "Thousands flocked to join him, others went into hiding to wait, while many still stayed loyal to the Royal Family. Those whom he found that would not join him usually did not even get the comfort of a quick death. Brothers turned on one another, fathers fought sons and allies slew each other on the field of battle, waging this way and that with no apparent victor. With little chance left of victory, we launched a final assault on their main army, and managed to beat them steadily back. After that, it was as though the Coughlians had just lost heart. Finally, we drove them far across the sea, and I thought that they would never have the audacity to return.  
  
"Apparently," he added with a dark look, "I was wrong. Two days ago, I received a letter form Korvin Ralkeen, asking for a friendly audience with the monarch of Hyrule. Honestly, I don't think he expected me to still be alive. I agreed to meet with him, which was the first mistake. He claimed that he wanted to end the enmity between out two countries, and asked, to my very great surprise, to be allowed back into the kingdom to peacefully reintegrate. Of course, then I knew that he just wanted another chance at the throne, and his threats of annihilation when I answered him nay proved my suspicion."  
  
"I don't remember any death threats," Zelda commented with a frown.  
  
"You were not there," the king answered. "I meet him here, in this very room, after you had gone to bed. It was only after I left that I realized my mistake. He had seen the castle, the Keep, and all the security in between. If his armies are large enough, he can take the castle."  
  
Link nodded, biting his lip slightly. "I expected something like that. I just wish that we had more time. If we did, it might be possible to- "  
  
He was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door of the study. "Your Majesty? Your Royal Highness?" came a familiar voice from the other side. "There is something on the astronomy tower that I think you need to see."  
  
"What is it Weiun?" Link asked, opening the door.  
  
"I think you'd just better come and see," the young guard answered. "If you'll follow me?"  
  
The trio followed the young man up the winding stairway that led to the astronomy tower. As they stepped into the sunlight, Weiun stepped over to the telescope, adjusting it slightly toward the horizon. "I think you should take a look through there Your Majesty," he said to King Gaerdon.  
  
The king strode over to the instrument, bending over slightly to place his eyes against the lenses. He stayed that way for a moment that stretched into an eternity, and then, very slowly, stepped away, and turned to face the Hero of Time and the Princess.  
  
"They're here," he said softly, "and Ralkeen himself rides at their head."  
  
At long last, Link broke the silence, his voice tight. "I was under the impression that we would have more time. Could the Kokiri have fallen so soon?"  
  
Zelda heard the deep hurt in the young man's voice. She knew what it was like to know that every person who she had grown up with, everyone she had known since childhood had died.  
  
"Korvin does not do anything by halves," the king answered. "He will attack from every quarter, using forces that seem as so they will overwhelm us. He will never let up, never give in, give quarter, or expect any. His men will throw themselves at us until every last one of them is cut down." King Gaerdon shook his head, evil memories creeping into his mind. "I just wish that we had a little more time."  
  
"If he will do that, that means that Korvin can only attack us with half his armed force," Link said. "The Kokiri are still holding their own, I'd bet my life on it, and, if I know my sworn-brother at all, he and the Gorons are helping the people of Kakariko to keep more of the Coughlians at bay. Assuming that Korvin has already gotten past the Gerudos, he can't bring his full force to bear on us for some time yet. That may give us the time we need to find a way to beat him."  
  
The king nodded. "A good point, Link. I do not think that Ralkeen thought that Hyrule would have been so united against him. When last he attacked, racial hatreds kept the people of Hyrule from helping one another. It seems that the Imprisoning War did the country some good after all." The monarch turned to Weiun, a look of stern determination on his face. "Lieutenant, I want you to organize our defenses, but make sure you rotate positions and man power concentration. We must make him as blind to our strength as possible."  
  
"Yes sir!" The young soldier saluted smartly and jogged down the stairs of the tower, making his way to the main wall.  
  
Zelda turned to Link, watching the warrior as he stared out toward the horizon and the advancing army. She knew that he saw his doom marching toward the castle, one way or another. She wished that there was something she could do to help him, but this was a battle she could help him fight only part of the way.  
  
"I'm going to meet with him," the king announced, breaking into Zelda's train of thought. "I'm not naive enough to think that he will leave us alone, but it may buy us more time, and the others more time to break free and come to our aid."  
  
Link nodded. "I want to be there when you do. I am fairly anxious to meet this Korvin Ralkeen." He gave the king a sidelong glance. "That is, if it is your will, your majesty."  
  
King Gaerdon threw the Hero of Time a small smile from behind his beard. "I wouldn't have it any other way." The king paused, giving Link a studied look. "In fact, I think you should come with me. There is a rather old matter that needs setting."  
  
"And what is that?" Zelda asked, frowning slightly.  
  
"You both shall see."  
  
King Gaerdon led the pair to the throne room of the Castle Keep, then paused by the king's throne. Above the seat was a torch sconce, and the Hylian leader reached up, and pulled the torch set in the wall down. A sharp grating sound echoed through the room, and the dais on which the thrones rested began to rotate into the hitherto solid wall. After a full one hundred and eighty-degree turn, the dais stopped, and Link and Zelda looked for the first time on an ancient room, buried deep within the keep.  
  
"This," the king said with a sweeping gesture of his hand, "is the sanctuary of the Royal Knights of Hyrule. Here is where my most trusted soldiers gathered during times of greatest disaster, lowest hope, and greatest triumph. I think that is high time that you, Link, were fully initiated into their ranks, not just as a figurehead, but as a true knight of the order."  
  
"What do you mean sir?" Link asked as the king strode over to a wardrobe.  
  
"I a referring to your new raiment, Sir Link." He handed the hero a beautifully sewn tabard of emerald green, bordered by gold. Emblazoned on the front was the phoenix crest of the Royal Guard, and above it was the sacred symbol of all Hyrule. Link looked upon the symbol of the Knights, and his breath caught in his throat.  
  
"Go ahead, put it on," the king urged. "And don't forget these." The king placed in Link's hands a wonderfully forged sword, and a shield that would never fall to mortal weapons. "I know you will be using the Master Sword, but one can never be too careful. And I understand that you are in need of a new shield." King Gaerdon paused, pain lining his features in the dim light. "My finest knights fell defending the castle during the Imprisoning War. You are the last of their order. The weapon and shield are a symbol of what was once the highest place of honor that an individual could rise to. Use them well."  
  
Thank you, Your Majesty," Link said, donning the tabard and shield and placing the sword in his bag of holding. "I shall."  
  
The king nodded. "In that case, I think we had best see what Ralkeen has to say for himself."  
  
Standing upon the wall above the main gates of Hyrule Castle, King Gaerdon, Princess Zelda, and Sir Link, flanked by the Sheikah and Royal Guard, looked down on the forces of the Divinity of Coughl, and the white-haired man that lead them. Korvin Ralkeen sat ramrod straight on the back of a jet- black stallion, spear in his hand and a sword at his waist, garbed in pitch- black and blood-red armor. Around him were his honor guard, bearing the banner of the blackened Inver Force on a field of scarlet.  
  
He looks as though he has already conquered us, rather than is facing a long and costly siege, Link thought. I hope that we look as though we posses that amount of confidence.  
  
"Well Gaerdon," Ralkeen said in a voice that was not loud, but commanding, "it has been, what, twenty years or more since last we met? Time has not been good to you."  
  
"I warned you once Ralkeen," the steel-haired king said sternly, "and I shall do so only once more: do not underestimate us. That was the mistake you made last time."  
  
"On the contrary," Ralkeen said with a sneer, "I think it is you who underestimate me. I have at my disposal more than four times what you see here today. Some of them are indisposed, but that is a temporary predicament, and easily remedied. Already my forces are breaking through your paltry attempts at opposition in the forest to the south."  
  
"You may think that, but they will have more trouble from the Kokiri than you could possibly expect!" Link burst out, feeling his cheeks grow hot. "They have been here for longer than we have, and you will not be the ones to uproot them."  
  
Korvin Ralkeen looked at Link out of the corner of his eye in the manner that one might us when observing a particularly unappetizing slug. "You look to be a might large for a Kokiri. What have you done to give you the right to wear the tabard of a Royal Knight?"  
  
"He is not a Kokiri, but the one raised among them," Zelda threw back at the war leader. "He is the one who single-handedly defeated the evil that came ten years after you! This man is the one whom you should fear most out of all those who oppose you."  
  
Ralkeen looked at Link again, a slight smile creeping across his face. "Even in the wastes beyond the sea there are tales told of the doings of the Hero of Time. Taking back my country shall be more enjoyable than I thought."  
  
"The king's patience grows short," Link said warningly, "so I will deliver you a final ultimatum in his stead. If you leave now, and never return, taking all those who serve you back across the sea, we will not hinder you, and not hold it against any of those who would stay peaceably in Hyrule. However," Link continued, his tone growing cold, "if you decide to continue in your ravaging, we will not only throw you back, but I will personally pursue you beyond the edge of the world, until you are defeated and crushed, and beg for mercy at the feet of those whose loved ones you have slain."  
  
The white-haired leader managed, even from twenty feet below, to look down his nose at Link before he spoke. "I do not have time for idle threats. Either you surrender now, or you face destruction. It is that simple."  
  
"I will never surrender, nor will my people!" bellowed King Gaerdon. "There is your answer."  
  
"So be it." Ralkeen gestured sharply with his left hand, and the honor guard fell back, their war leader retreating with them as the forces of Coughl launched themselves at the Castle gate.  
  
Another arrow sprang from Link's bow and yet one more of the Coughlian soldiers fell to the blood-soaked plains, laying amidst hundreds of his comrades, as well as all too many of the defenders.  
  
We are simply too few, Link thought desperately, nocking another quarrel. They can afford to throw their people at us almost without end, but we can only hold out for so long without reinforcements. The arrow flew true, as had all its companions, and Link felt an icy grip squeeze tighter around his heart. There is no way we can win.  
  
Beside him, all the defenders of Hyrule were giving their best effort to push back the invading force. Grapples were cut, ladders were pushed into the moat, those few who gained the walls died there shortly thereafter. But it was not enough. The enemy still came, and the dark tide showed no sign of ebbing.  
  
Zelda, having taken a moment to return to the form of Sheik, the blue- clad Royal Guardian, fired from bow and hacked with sword at the hero's side, staying abreast of him all through the siege of the castle. They had been at battle for hours, with no rest for either side, and the pace was beginning to tell on the Princess, as well as many of the others. However, Weiun Thar and Link still fought on with a vigor that surprised even them, but Link shuddered to think what would happen when Korvin brought his siege engines and battering rams to bear against the castle's defenses.  
  
As though on cue, the forces of the Divinity parted, making way for a giant timber swung on a frame, swung by two great chains affixed to it. The knights of Coughl surged forward again, this time to the beat of the great dragon's head ram against the gates of the castle. Link's face grew dark, and he threw a questioning look over at the king, who stood, his bodyguards flanking him, atop the highest parapet. The monarch's face mirrored his own, and he gestured, sending wave after wave of arrows down upon those who swung the ram. But as each one fell, at least two more leapt to take his place, and the barrage continued until the wood of the gates creaked and began to splinter.  
  
"Link!" Zelda cried as the ram thundered against the gates. "Isn't there anything we can do to stop that?"  
  
"Not that I can think of!" the hero shouted back above the din of battle. "It looks as though the only thing we can do is hope the gates hold."  
  
"What about fire?" the Princess asked, sending a sharp boot to one of the enemy as he tried to scale the wall.  
  
"It wouldn't be hot enough to burn the ram in enough time, and meanwhile would only weaken the gates that much more!"  
  
"That wasn't what I meant!"  
  
Of a sudden, it dawned on Link, and his heart skipped a beat before plunging back to reside in his boots. "I can't do that here! It would take as many of us as it would them. Din's fire just doesn't work like that."  
  
"Couldn't you, I don't know. . .improvise?"  
  
Link's brow furrowed slightly as he struck down one of the attacking knights. "I can at least try." Making a sweeping arc with the Master Sword to give himself some breathing room, the Hero of Time crouched on one knee, focusing his energy into a ball of flame. However, as opposed to releasing it to spread in all directions around himself, he leapt up, and hurled it towards the battering ram as it hung suspended in the air.  
  
With a brilliant explosion of sparks, splinters, and molten metal, the ram burst into raging flames. Those around the ram below on the plain were incinerated, set ablaze, or struck through by the shrapnel that sprang forth from the blast. Those who were out of the blast radius were thrown to the ground by the shock wave that followed soon after. In a moment of panic, the attackers were set into confusion, and the defenders redoubled, sending arrows, molten lead, boulders, and ballista bolts down into the enemy. Those who could escaped, those who could not, fell.  
  
A thunderous cheer rose from the Hylian defenders, and there was a moment of sheer euphoria before they realized that they had only stemmed the first tide, and that the Coughlians were still strong, and were only repelled for the day. The cheering subsided, and those who had survived remembered fallen comrades, and recognized the fact that there would be more.  
  
It was the end of the first day of autumn.  
  
"Winter is a cruel time of year to be locked in war," Link commented, looking out the window of the castle library. The green grasses of Hyrule Plain had been blanketed by the pure white of the first of the winter's snow. It would have seemed picturesque, if it were not for the thousands upon thousands of soldiers who squatted there, huddled around fires and pressed against what shelter they could find.  
  
Link was decidedly happier indoors.  
  
"You know Link," came a voice from the chair behind him, "this would be decidedly easier if you would actually help."  
  
Link turned, glancing over his shoulder and the blade mounted there at Zelda. She was once again bent over the third volume of the Tauv'Kithmurn Tomes, and the circles around her eyes were becoming more and more obvious. "You know Zelda," the hero said gently, leaning against the table, "if you didn't find anything there the first two times, I doubt the third time will be any different."  
  
The Princess threw him a half-smile. "What am I supposed to do?" she asked, her hands sweeping to encompass the towering shelves and artfully designed architecture of the building. "This is the only book in here that even mentions the Great War, and the only thing is states about Ralkeen is his name."  
  
"History is written by the winners," Link reminded her coyly. "Makes you wonder who will write about us doesn't it?"  
  
"What puzzles me," said Zelda, gazing at the page and ignoring his jibe, "is that there is no reference whatsoever to this Inver Force that was discovered or created to head the Coughlians. There has to more to that than a mere image on a banner."  
  
"There is," the Hero of Time said in a tone that dissuaded dispute. "But I doubt that any of the historians of two decades ago were privileged to any information of any actual powers the Inver Force possessed. The only person who knows that for sure is Korvin Ralkeen himself."  
  
"Then maybe we can ask him how to destroy it," Zelda said tiredly, closing the book and replacing it on the shelf. "Do you want to ask him, or should I?"  
  
"Very funny," Link said, clasping her hand as she sank back in the chair. "I imagine we'll have a chance in the near future, if things keep going along their current track. We've lost the better half of our forces here, and have had no word from the defenders of the Kokiri forest, the Gerudos, or those at Death Mountain."  
  
"No word is sometimes considered good word," The Princess quoted. "At least there's a chance that they're still holding out." She rose form her chair, stepping to the window and looking down upon the square below. "Hey, I can see Weiun and Malon from here." A shadowed look crossed the Princess's face as she gazed out of the glass. "Do you remember when we were so innocent?"  
  
"Vaguely," the hero answered from her side. "How innocence is wasted on the young."  
  
The Princess laughed, short but heartfelt. "And you are what, a year Weiun's senior?"  
  
"Seven months actually," Link said with a smile. "Ten for Malon. But you have to admit, the distance seems much greater sometimes."  
  
"Let them have their youth." Zelda smiled in remembrance, and looked sidelong at her love. "How long has it been for them anyway?"  
  
"Longer than you'd think. Apparently, she took over her father's job of delivering milk to the castle in order to see him every day. I thought that she had a sweetheart when I was working there, but I never suspected him. Very shy he seemed to me."  
  
"Malon has the tendency to bring out the best in people. I'm just glad that her special person didn't turn out to be you."  
  
The Hero of Time raised an eyebrow. "And you thought I was?"  
  
Zelda shrugged. "I had my suspicions of course, but I was sure, somehow, that you harbored feelings for me that you could never feel for Malon. It's just that - "  
  
Her sentence was cut short as an arrow whistled through the casement, shattering the glass in its flight to streak past the two and bury itself in an encyclopedia of water plants on the tenth shelf up from the floor.  
  
"What in hell?" Link exclaimed, leaning over to hazard a glance out of the window. "The only way an arrow could reach here would be if. . ."  
  
"If it came from inside the walls. They've broken through!" Without missing a beat, Zelda closed her eyes, and a wind picked up, swirling her robes around her. When the wind died, she was clad as a Sheikah, and her opened eyes were ruby red. She grabbed her sword from off the table, and raced to the window, ready to throw herself to the courtyard.  
  
"Hold a moment!" Link said, reaching into the bag of holding at his waist, and drawing out a length of rope and a pronged grapple. Latching the grapple securely to the casement, he wrapped an arm around Zelda. "Hold tight." Clinging to each other, the two plummeted to the chaos of the battle below.  
  
The two warriors raced across the embattled courtyard, making their way as quickly as possible to the wall, now being overrun by the forces of Coughl. Link wielded the Master Sword with a speed and ferocity that scattered anybody in his way. Zelda sprinted along by his side, the Sword of the Old King licking out every now and then to claim the life of an enemy soldier. In a short time, Link and Zelda reached the top of the wall, and the desperate Hylian soldiers defending it.  
  
"Weiun!" Link shouted above the din, darting to the side of the young lieutenant. "What happened? How could they have taken the wall in such short time?"  
  
"I don't know!" the soldier yelled back. "I was in the courtyard when it happened. They must have launched a surprise attack using their siege towers."  
  
"You mean all two that we didn't destroy?" Zelda asked incredulously. "And how did they reach the wall? The archers should have had no trouble taking them down."  
  
"They do at this range," Link said, pointing at the forces pressing against the walls, struggling to reach the gate. "If they reach that, the castle falls. . ." He trailed off, jaw set as he stepped closer to the Princess. "And if that happens, we fall with it."  
  
Zelda nodded, then turned to Weiun. "Have you seen my father?"  
  
"Once," came the answer. "He was holding a small contingent near the northwest parapet, but I haven't seen him since then. I think he may have fallen back to the courtyard to muster a charge."  
  
"Unless. . ." Zelda looked desperately around, searching the wall for King Gaerdon.  
  
"Don't worry Zelda," Link said, directing her attention to a figure below the fluttering banner of Hyrule in the square. "Your father's safe, and he's motioning for us to join him down there." The hero shot a glance at Weiun. "What do you think?"  
  
"The wall is lost," Thar answered. "We need to organize whatever defense or counter-offensive down there." He turned to the Hylians fighting on the ramparts. "Fall back to the courtyard! All Hylians, fall back to the king!"  
  
The trio leaped from the wall, a could of dust rising as their booted feet struck the ground. Struggling through the remaining Coughlians that had made it to the square, they made their way to where the king stood, his guard around him, his sword unsheathed, and his banner held high.  
  
"Your majesty!" Link said breathlessly, saluting the king smartly as he screeched to a halt. "I regret to inform you that the wall has fallen, and that a retreat to this position has been ordered."  
  
King Gaerdon nodded slowly. "Good. There will be no useless bloodshed here today, not if I can help it. Lieutenant Thar, muster your men on this point. No matter what, we will stand. Here is where the outcome of this battle will be decided, and possibly the outcome of this war."  
  
"Sir!" Weiun snapped a salute, spinning on his heel. "Listen up!" he said, addressing the troops gathering around the banner and streaming from the defense of the wall. "We make our stand here, no matter what. Stay close, and you may live to tell of this day."  
  
The Hylians formed ranks around the banner of the Tri Force, their spears gleaming in the late morning sunlight, the shields forming a wall against the wave of Coughlians rushing toward them. "Stand you ground men!" the king commanded in a voice that resounded from the towers of the castle. "Stand, and drive them back!"  
  
The lines of the Coughlian forces clashed against the defenders with a clash of steel and shouts of pain. The overwhelming strength of their attackers seemed only to give new strength to the Hylians, and they held their ground in spite of the soldiers bearing down on them from the walls and the forced-opened gates. Link fought with Zelda on his right and Weiun Thar on his left, the trio keeping the enemy tide from reaching the king of Hyrule. Horns sounded from the castle as the remaining Hylians inside rushed to aid their brethren in the struggle. Blood stained the cobblestones of the courtyard and the voices of the dying and wounded echoed across the battleground. The dead did not speak.  
  
As the foe continued to attack, pressing their access to the gate to their full advantage, the line began to visibly weaken. Their were not enough defenders In the castle to withstand the ferocity of the onslaught, and the defenders began to fall, pressed slowly but surely back toward the dirt road and the countryside leading to the keep, where the Coughlians would be able to employ their advantage in numbers fully. Link desperately wiped sweat from hie eyes, his hand brushing the scar on his face, reminding him of another such hopeless battle, and his possible future. At that moment, as if on cue, the tide of the attackers separated him from Zelda.  
  
At once he struggled to reach her, using both hands to wield the Master Sword, causing any in his way to fall or flee, but there were always more to stand against him. He saw the Hylians around Zelda falling to the tulwars and falchions of the Coughlian soldiers, and screamed her name, redoubling his efforts. But it was to no avail. The Princess was cut off from him and surrounded by the enemy. Though the Sword of the Old King swept and bit at the foe, she was being slowly hemmed in.  
  
I have no chance of reaching her, Link thought in despair, and if she falls, Weiun will never reach me in time to take my life. That thought coursed through his mind, filling him with anger and desperation, and he paused, gripping the sacred sword of Hyrule tightly in his left hand, and screamed his rage.  
  
Those around him threw themselves to the ground of fell back at the horrible visage. Link himself was caught off guard, but did not understand until he looked down upon the Master Sword. The blade was pulsing a ruby red, glowing venomously in his hand, and he could feel an unmatched power flowing through him. The only other time he had witnessed anything of the sort was during his battle with the darker side of himself more than a year ago. The Hero of Time smiled, and launched himself forward  
  
The sword blazed furiously, cleaving through flesh, bone, and steel alike as the hero fought to reach his love. Those he struck directly were thrown into the air like straw dolls, and those who tried to ward off his attacks were split asunder. Panting heavily, but beaming with relief, Link reached Zelda's side, found her unwounded, and guided her to where her father was ordering a retreat from the castle.  
  
"There's nowhere to run," Weiun was arguing as the two reached them. "If we fall aback further, we will be trapped in the keep, little provisions and even littler defense."  
  
"What else can we do?" the king countered.  
  
"We go through them."  
  
The two looked at Link with surprise and disbelief, eyes flicking to the glow of his blade and the fire in his eyes.  
  
"How do you mean?" King Gaerdon asked at last.  
  
"We cannot stay, and there is nothing for us but a lingering death if we retreat. The only other solution is to spearhead through their force and make our way to Hyrule Plain and the Steppes of Iaord. From there we can reconvene our forces, and perhaps call on the aid of those who are not already hard-pressed."  
  
The king looked at his daughter and then at his chief lieutenant. Both nodded their agreement. "It seems we have little other choice. Lead us Sir Link. Away from this death trap, and to victory."  
  
The remaining Hylians at the castle gathered around the mounted Hero of Time, forming a wedge that was the only hope of driving their way through the Coughlians and away from Hyrule Castle. With the first snows of winter scuffed and stained red underfoot, Link surveyed the foe as they gathered, scaling the wall or streaming through the open gates. He took a deep breath, settling himself more sturdily on Epona, raised his glowing blade, and bellowed: "Charge!"  
  
As one entity, the Hylians surged forward, breaking through the Coughlian lines, hacking at those who barred the way. Taken by surprise, the invading soldier fell back momentarily, but soon regained themselves and struggled tooth and claw to keep the Hylians from escaping.  
  
Despite the numbers arrayed against them, it seemed that the Hylians would break free. This gave them hope that began to renew their depleted strength and they fought that much harder. With the thundering of hooves and the clash of arms, the refugees drove their way through their antagonists, out of the gate, and right onto the white, snowy expanse of Hyrule Plain. There, they all but halted in their tracks.  
  
Crouching upon the snow in straight, black, endless lines were enormous creatures, their black hair seeming to soak in the noonday sun. Their weapons were their gnarled, wicked claws and bared fangs, and they moved across the 'scape with the ease and fluidity of intangible, wraith- like spirits. As the Hylian soldiers moved cautiously forward, the Wraiths rose as one, and, with a collective howl that froze every nerve in Link's body, surged forward like an evil flood, charging toward the now trapped Hylians. As the lines clashed and the battle began anew, the screams of death and pain now emanated form the Hylian ranks, the beasts performing their grisly duty well. Link hacked and slashed about him, but it seemed to do little good against the monsters. Even mounted upon Epona as he was, he only reached their shoulders. One of the Wraiths came at him, claws swinging wildly, ropey saliva trailing form its jaws, and he spitted it solidly in the gut with the Master Sword. . .  
  
And was flung from his horse by the beast, who was still very much alive.  
  
Link was so taken aback that, had he still been on his horse, he would have fallen from it again. Though it bled heavily form the wound and its face was contorted in pain, it was still as deadly as if Link had never struck it at all. Desperately trying to reach his horse and Zelda's side, the Master Sword flashed crimson, and the beast fell headless to the snow.  
  
"Their heads!" Link shouted gleefully, plunging the blade into the chest of another Wraith. "Their heads and their hearts. Aim truly to fell them!"  
  
Even with the knowledge of how to fell the massive beasts, the Hylian army was beset on two sides, and outnumbered easily five to one. As the would-be escapees tried ever more desperately to break through the foe biting into their number, the sound of horns issued from the crags of Death Mountain. Out of the gap in the steep slope, all on horses and bearing weapons that gleamed in the sun, were at least eight thousand soldiers, all galloping full tilt at the pitched battle on Hyrule Plain. Every Hylian heart plummeted into the owner's boots. With the force that had beset Death Mountain free to attack Hyrule, it meant that the Gorons and those of Kakariko had fallen or were retreated beyond all recall.  
  
"We're done for," Link remarked to Zelda, swinging back up onto his horse. "With that many against us added to those we struggle with now, there will be no survivors.  
  
A gleam flashed in Weiun Thar's eye. "Not to worry Link. I don't think that those soldiers will be inclined to attack us. Look closer."  
  
And among the ranks of the Hylians, cheering arose as the cavalry, bearing the Tri Force of Hyrule and the Crimson Eye of the Sheikah clashed against the stunned forces of Coughl.  
  
As the cavalry from Kakariko, lead by Captain Bridon Girth, thundered into the fray, the Hylians strove all the harder to break free from the Wraiths blocking their way. As the creatures fell, more and more of the white expanse of Hyrule Plain turned black with their fallen forms, and the Hylians pressed onward. Link and Zelda rode at their head, their blades twin forces that parted the Coughlians and the giant beasts like scythes through hay. As the defenders forced their way toward the open plains, the attackers from Kakariko charged in and out of the battle, taking heavy tolls on the troops opposing them.  
  
After a short but fierce confrontation, the remaining members of the Hylians who had defended the castle broke through the Wraiths that had barred the way, and, with the archers giving cover fire, rode toward the Steppes of Iaord, and the canyons beyond.  
  
Link and Zelda pushed their horses to the limit of their strength, trying to outdistance the pursuit that was sure to come hard on their heels. Though the Divinity of Coughl, or at least those that they had fought, did not have a large cavalry, the Wraiths were likely to be able to go as far and fast as horses, or further. It was better not to take chances.  
  
It would be a long, hard winter.  
  
It has been a very long hard winter, Link thought with a sigh. After the fall of Hyrule Castle, the battle against the forces of Coughl had become steadily more and more desperate. Even with the addition of the cavalry and Sheikah soldiers under Girth's command, the Allies were still outnumbered heavily. Though they had been pushed farther towards the borders of their forests, the Kokiri were holding out rather well, and the Zora, protecting the doorway to Lake Hylia, had retreated to their underground kingdom. No Coughlian soldier who dared entered their domain ever returned. The Gorons had opted to stay at Death Mountain, and protect the passage to the lands outside of Hyrule, though there were some of the earthly creatures in the ranks of the army.  
  
However, with the bulk of their forces spread out so, the Allies were hard-pressed to fend off the hordes of Wraiths that seemed eternally bent on seeking them out. It was not until they received word from Nabooru and the Gerudos that they began to see some chance of victory.  
  
Apparently, the desert thieves had held their fortress against the Coughlian onslaught even longer than the Hylians had held the castle. It was not until they learned of the defeat and the Hero of Time's hit-and- fade attacks against the invaders that they decided to abandon their post, and bring their entire force of five thousand to the Hylians' aide. With the eight thousand cavalry from Kakariko and hundreds that had survived the siege of the castle, Link knew that they were still quite a force to be reckoned with. And after nearly a year of guerilla warfare, they were finally ready for a frontal assault against the Coughlians.  
  
And what a year it has been. The Hero of Time frowned slightly. Had he looked at a portrait of himself a year ago, he might not have recognized the face staring back at him. His hair had grown out, and, without the discarded cap to keep it back, he had resorted to a leather thongs tied around his forehead. Though he still wore the tabard of a Knight of Hyrule, he also bore a black armband in memorial of all those lost during the Conquest Wars. Even so, the changes outside paled in comparison to the struggle that had begun within him.  
  
During the fall of the castle, Link must have unleashed some sort of terrible power while wielding the Master Sword. Now, whenever he used magical energy to enhance his attack, the blade turned blood red, and was incredibly hard to control. He had seen something like that once before, but only when the Master Sword had been wielded by his darker side. At the time, Link had assumed it was the firelight in the Throne Room reflected off the blade, but he was wrong, and his conviction was reinforced when he had removed his gauntlet on that same winter day.  
  
Somehow, during that struggle, the Tri Force of power that his darker half had stolen from Ganondorf after killing the King of Evil had planted itself in Link's hand, directly above the symbol he had bore since his part in the Imprisoning War. The only explanation he could give to it was that his lust for power at that moment, no matter what end it would have served, nearly caused him to go over the edge, and become that which he had for so long fought against. Now, with every battle, every skirmish with the enemy, he felt himself slip a little more, and his hold over the disease that had invaded him weaken.  
  
The Hero of Time shuddered. Absolute power had a knack of corrupting absolutely. He would much rather die than present a threat to his country, his friends, and his beloved.  
  
Don't think about that now, he berated himself. The battle that needs fighting will come soon enough. If we can win that, there will be no more need for this thing that squats on my hand.  
  
He only hoped that that would be enough to cause the Tri Force of Power to disappear. If it did not, sooner or later, no matter how hard he fought against it, he would become evil.  
  
Weiun Thar stepped quietly over the two forms on the floor, causing the Hero of Time to open his lids halfway, and give the young lieutenant a weary smile.  
  
"Get any sleep?" he asked slyly.  
  
Thar nodded, a blush coloring his cheeks. "Malon was worried about you when she head the Wraith, and even more worried when I told her that you had taken care of it. Owing to the number of soldiers that have been slain by those monsters, she reckoned that it might have dealt heavily with you."  
  
"I'm tired and sore, but not all that much the worse for wear." Link stretched languidly, somehow managing not to disturb the sleeping Princess as he did so.  
  
"You know," Weiun said, lowering his voice, "she loves you like a brother. She says that you were the only person before me that she felt she could confide in. And to be honest, I have come to hold you as a brother as well."  
  
"Good," Link said, rising and clapping the younger man on the back. "Considering you're married to her, there might be conflicts if you starting hating me."  
  
"No chance of that." Weiun paused, biting his lip. He knew that what he was saying was necessary, but saying felt like he was resigning himself to that fact, and he didn't like that idea. "Look Link, if. . . if I die today, I want to ask you. . . Well, I know you have a lot on your mind already, but if that happens, would you make sure that Malon's. . ."  
  
The hero nodded. "I'll make sure she's looked after, and that she gets through this mess. However," he added, his voice becoming stern, "I don't want to ever have to make good on that promise. We are all coming back from today."  
  
The soldier saluted smartly. "As ordered sir."  
  
"There has to be a better way to wake up than to the two of you shouting at the top of your lungs before the break of day," Zelda said from the bunker floor.  
  
Link flashed her a grin reminiscent of the boy who Weiun had once known. "Actually dear heart, you still have the hood over your eyes. The sun rises even now, and that means we have a battle to prepare for."  
  
"Indeed," King Gaerdon boomed as he strode into the room. The Sheikah guards Rith and Saral shadowed him, their longswords in easy reach and their hoods pulled over their heads. Both had survived the storming of Hyrule Castle, as well as the skirmishes that had occurred over the past year. "It also means that it is time to address the troops."  
  
"I'll be but a moment Your Majesty," the Hero of Time replied, securing the Master Sword on his back. Almost as an afterthought, he reached into the bag of holding that he carried on his belt, and dug around in it, searching for something. Even after knowing him so long, Weiun was still amazed at the way Link's entire arm, and things much larger, could fit in a pouch twice the size of a balled fist.  
  
"Ah ha!" Link cried triumphantly, pulling an incredibly well forged blade out, scabbard and all.  
  
Zelda gave him a questioning look as he strapped the sword on behind the sacred blade of Hyrule. "What's that for? It's not like you can use two swords and a shield all at once."  
  
"No, but I don't want to risk losing a weapon and being defenseless as a result of lack of precaution."  
  
Not that it'll will do you any good, or us for that matter, if something does happen and you change. Weiun knew the same thing must have been going through Zelda's mind at that moment. Of all of the Allies, she had been most stricken by the turn of events that verified Link's suspicion, and had born the burden well. At least, so far.  
  
Weiun knew that what the two of them were going through had to be unimaginably hard. He worried about losing Malon, but she wasn't worried about having to kill her own husband.  
  
Surprisingly, not only had Malon been doing well in the year following the fall of the castle, she had thrived on the hard lifestyle, becoming more vivacious, more assertive, and even a decent shot with a short bow. Though she would be part of the battle, she would be doing so as an archer, not one who would crash against the front lines of the enemy. Weiun did not envy Link his predicament at all.  
  
The sun had finally cleared the bank of clouds on the horizon when Link, Zelda, Gaerdon, Weiun, Nabooru, Rith, and Saral strode to the front of the gathered forces of the Allies. Amid the morning light, tendrils left over from predawn fog drifted in and out of the encampment, spirits that still dwelled among them, looking upon a desperate force on the morn of its last chance for victory. Link sighed heavily, eyes wandering across the limits of vision; the gray-green forest, the slightest reflections of Lake Hylia, the shrouded crimson of Death Mountain. This, the beauty that the Goddesses had created in Hyrule, was what they were fighting to protect.  
  
And on this day, it was unavoidable that a lot of good people were going to die for that cause. People who, by all rights, should never have had to take up arms, even to defend their homes. The Hero of Time cast a glance at Zelda as she stood by her father. He would just have to insure that the losses were minimized, and victory was achieved.  
  
"People of Hyrule, of the Mountains, and of the Desert to the west," King Gaerdon addressed the soldiers, "I thank each and every one of you for all you have done. Your sacrifices have all been heavier than they should have been, but you have given just the same. For this, we cannot express our gratitude in full." He paused, his expression grim and drawn. "I know that you know me as your king, but there is one man among us who has earned himself the recognition of a true leader in this time of crisis. I speak of no other than Sir Link, Ganon's Bane." He looked back at the younger man, beckoning him to step forward. "I ask Hyrule's most celebrated hero to say a word to the soldiers."  
  
Link grimaced slightly, but he had a feeling that the king would do something of the sort, and had prepared himself for that event. "I thank Your Majesty," he said, stepping forward, "and all of those who have given to the cause." Here he paused, thinking how best to phrase the sentence forming in his mind. "You may call me a hero, you may call me a savior, but these are titles that I do not entirely deserve." Link held up a hand to quell the mounting noise at this statement. "I was merely somebody who happened to be at the right place at the right time, and later finished something that he had helped to start. That's all. You call me a hero, but I know each and every one of you to be such, or more.  
  
"Over the past year, many would have left, seeking a way to best disappear from the attention of the invaders, to be hopefully forgotten. But I have come to have an even higher understanding of the people of this kingdom, and our allies, and their love of their families and homes. You are all more heroic than I could ever be. You have given everything to people you hardly know; lives, time, happiness, family, loved ones. These are debts that we can never repay.  
  
"However, this day is one that will bring more sorrow, no matter the outcome. Should we win the day, it will be at the cost of many lives, perhaps even my own."  
  
There were protests from the soldiers at this, and one voice sounded confidently from the mass. "That's not possible Sir! You'll never fall, today or for years to come. You are Sir Link. That's just the way it is."  
  
The hero once again silenced the crowd with a wave of his hand. "I thank you for your confidence, but that is not the reality of it. It is a very real fact that I may die. I'm only mortal after all. That's the way the Goddesses made all of us, and there's nothing we can do about it. But I know that, no matter what happens to me today, my life has been made richer than I ever thought possible by having the chance to get to know and fight alongside you all. That is one more thing I thank you for." He flashed a smile at the gathered Allies, and raised the Master Sword. "May the Goddesses smile upon you all, and may Korvin Ralkeen feel the full brunt of their wrath!"  
  
Epona snorted softly as Link reined her up at the crest of the hill. Sweeping down before them was the sprawling mass of the Coughlian army. Behind them was the break in the ground that was the lip of Gifster Canyon. The invaders' sentries had been taken out quickly, and with a minimum of noise that kept the Allies advance secret. However, they could not stay hidden for much longer.  
  
Of course, Link thought with a wry smile, that wasn't really their intention. All they waited for now was a signal from Captain Girth that he was in position.  
  
Far across the Steppes, at the crest of the hill nearly a mile across from the current position of Link's wing, there came a faint glimmering, like the morning sunlight reflecting off of cold steel. The hero looked back at his troops, their faces set in a stone mask of determination. Zelda and Weiun sat upon steeds to his right and left respectively, with the king on the hero's far right, his Sheikah guardians in front of him holding drawn swords. A full half of the Allies spread back from them, seeming to cover the plain like the grass it had lost during the Conquest Wars.  
  
Link raised the sacred blade of Hyrule, catching the light of the rising sun, and brought it forward in a sweeping movement 'til its point rested against the mass that was the Coughlian army. With a sound of thunder, the Allies surged forward, charging from both sides of the invaders' camp to attempt to drive them over the cliff. The Coughlians barely had time to raise their arms before the first line of attacking soldier slammed into them. Weapons clashed and orders were barked. The deciding battle for Hyrule had begun.  
  
Link wove in and out of the enemy, slashing at their flanks from horseback, dodging or deflecting weapons or missiles that came his way. There was not a one on the field who could stand against the Hero of Time in single combat, and even with the weight of numbers behind them, Link and the Allies still had the element of surprise and superior cavalry power. As the forces of Kakariko lead by Bridon Girth galloped into the fray, the disheveled Coughlians began to feel the stretch of their forces, and seemed to realize that they could very well lose this struggle.  
  
Zelda was beside him now, determination etched into the radiant lines of her face, making even the crowned Princess of Hyrule look as dangerous as the most grizzled mercenary. Her sword, blue fire crackling along the rune-etched blade, was equally impressive, and much more deadly. She and Link created two parts of one being made for battle, cutting into the invaders to inflict damage and sweep along the front of their lines. Because the attack had come so suddenly, the Coughlian archers were not far enough back to shoot into the battle without risking hitting their own. However, the Hylian and Gerudo archers, position on the lip of the hill, poured volley after volley into the Coughlians nearest the lip of the canyon, forcing them ever back. As the infantry tried desperately to buy enough time for the enemy cavalry to muster, the Allies rallied around the Tri Force banner, the crossed scimitars of the Gerudos, and the Crimson Eye of the Sheikah, and, with nearly their full force on horseback, charged straight as an arrow at the Coughlians.  
  
The two forces met in their entirety, a deafening roar echoing through the Steppes. For moments, the colors of the two armies seemed to merge, their vicinity was so close. The dark red and pitch black along with the blue and shimmering gold, both struggling against one another. Though the Coughlians were obviously trained for close-quarters combat, they were clearly not expecting the sheer fury that was put to use by the Allies. Those who fight for their homes fight the hardest, and this was painfully evident as the invaders, their banners wavering and their lines beginning to fall apart, retreated slowly but surely toward the cliffs.  
  
Zelda let out a whoop of victory, and plunged forward, followed by Link and Weiun as King Gaerdon pushed forward slowly. The trio scythed into the Coughlians, causing some of them to scatter, others to simply fall dead or broken in their wake. Link felt an incredible exhilaration course through him, the like of which he had never experienced before. His blade became an extension of his own self, a part of his being, and he seemed to control it more with thought than action. A war whoop escaped his lips, and he sat full up in the saddle, sword raised and shield lowered, and easy target for archer or spear, daring any and all to attempt to strike him down. It did not matter if they tried, for he was, at that point, completely untouchable. Desperately he searched for Korvin Ralkeen, but the overlord was nowhere in sight.  
  
The hero frowned, stooping slightly in his saddle to strike down a pikeman coming at him, and pitched headfirst to the ground as he did so, the enemy soldier stopping in his tracks, only to be cut down by Zelda as she leapt to her beloved's aid.  
  
Link clutched his left arm, pain contorting his face. On the back of his hand, the Tri Force of Power and blackened, smoking as it burned itself further into Link's living being. On the shaking hand, he could make out a crimson tinge to the skin surrounding the immediate area of the Mark, and his face paled.  
  
Zelda's countenance took a similar color, but she was not looking at Link. He followed her line of sight, and his breath caught in his throat.  
  
Coming up over the crest of the hill, the Allied archers fleeing desperately before them, was a force of thousands upon thousands of the hated Wraiths, laying waste to anything in their path. The attackers had become the attacked, and Link knew that any chance of victory had just been smashed into rubble.  
  
Weiun watched as the archers scrambled to get away, momentarily distracted from the task at hand as he searched desperately for signs that Malon had escaped the butchery that was being inflicted upon those archers who had tried to stand on their own against the Wraiths. He felt that he should have been more worried about the battle, knew that the Coughlians would press the appearance of their allies to the fullest advantage it could possibly offer.  
  
And he was right. The invaders had been pushed to the very brink of the cliffs of Gifster Canyon, and now they pushed back against their would- be attackers. The Allies were now caught between the maddened Coughlians, and the bestial fury of the Wraiths. Weiun paled, but hefted his sword again. It did not matter if he died. His job was to protect those who would come after him, to make sure that those caught in the terrible battle would live to enjoy their freedom. He saw Nabooru, Girth, and others acting on those thoughts. He let out a battle cry and leapt forward, trying to reach and give cover to the fleeing archers.  
  
This proved easier decided than accomplished. Seeing the danger of the advancing Wraiths, the king had apparently decided to make a break through the Coughlian forces and reach the relative safety of Gifster Canyons. Assuming they could safely scale the walls and not present tempting targets for the Coughlian archers at the same time.  
  
Weiun bit his lip furiously, loyalty to king struggling morally against he devotion and duty to Malon's safety. It was inevitable who would win, but it did not make the decision to go back practically alone any easier.  
  
Struggling through the bodies that raced as hard as they could, he and a few die-hards from his squadron made their way to cover the fleeing Allies and protect the archers long enough for them to reach the canyons. This was a very dangerous task, but Thar was sure that Karron, Portur, Huff, and the others were up to the task. At least, for a brief time.  
  
The soldiers broke free of the other Allies with little time to spare before either the Coughlians or the Wraiths descended upon them and wiped them out. Then hurled what spears they had into the oncoming Wraiths, allowing the archers a moments respite for some return fire of their own to sow further confusion. After that, there was no time to fight, only to run like mad.  
  
It seemed for a time like the body of the Allies would indeed make it to freedom. There was a slight breach across the northern hill, away from both the Coughlians and their horrible pets, that would allow even an army relatively safe access to the canyon. However, Weiun thought, if we can get in using it, that means that they can too. He frowned, hoping desperately with a backward glance that Link or Zelda had something clever up their sleeves to deal with that eventuality.  
  
"Weiun!" A wonderfully familiar voice swept his troubles away, and he looked forward to see the face of his wife beaming at him. "Is that really you?"  
  
"It certainly is!" the young warrior cried, putting on an extra burst of speed to sprint alongside her. "I had thought for a moment that I would never see you again!"  
  
"Did you see my father?" she asked, her face becoming grim.  
  
Weiun's heart wrenched inside of him. The kind old rancher had never been cut out for a warrior's life, and had been protected by a good many seasoned soldiers. All of which had fallen. He met her gaze, his eyes revealing his pain. "Only from a distance."  
  
She gritted her teeth, tears streaming down her cheeks. He would have put his arm around her, comforted her, had they not been racing for their lives. As it was, all he could do was take her hand as they ran. "I would tell you of the enemy soldier he took with him, but it would not console either of us, and I am husband enough to know it.  
  
The red-haired archer shook her head. "No. He only wanted to cultivate life, never to destroy it."  
  
Before Thar could answer her, the pair disappeared abruptly into a small boulder. On closer observation, Weiun saw them to have merely entered a crevasse in the canyon wall, and they were heading steeply down toward its floor.  
  
"Weiun, the Coughlians will have seen where we're going," Malon said, looking back apprehensively. "They know that we can't get out of the Canyon for miles, and those Wraiths move faster than horses on this sort of terrain."  
  
"I know love. I can only hope that The King, Zelda, and Link know what they're doing. They must have had a backup plan for something like this." I hope, he added mentally.  
  
"I can see something up ahead!" Malon exclaimed after a moment. "It looks like a cave of some sort. Goes back a long way too. It might even be a tunnel."  
  
Weiun squinted for a minute, then shrugged. "Whatever it is, it's too dark for me to make out. Do you think that's where they're heading?"  
  
Malon shrugged as best she could while running at full tilt. "It makes sense. I just don't see how they're going to keep the Wraiths from coming in after us. It's not too small for then in the least."  
  
The young man shook his head. "No idea. Maybe Link has something cooked up with that Master Sword of his, or Zelda's going to do something with that ocarina of hers. Never can tell with those two."  
  
His wife frowned slightly. "I don't think so. Link doesn't look like he's in any condition to work the Goddesses' magic, and Zelda looks as worried as you do. They may have had something planned, but it won't work now. The only thing we could do with no means to block the door is make a last stand inside, and that would be suicide."  
  
Weiun looked at Malon in shock. "How can you possibly tell?"  
  
The archer shrugged again. "I can just. . .well, sort of. . .you know, see them. It's like I'm looking through a tunnel, and they're at the other end. That's how I managed to find you, and how I got so good with a bow." Her frown deepened. "Come to think of it, I even used to use my vision to find Epona as a child. Why?"  
  
"Vision? Holy Din! Malon, do you know that this means?"  
  
She shook her head. "No. What?"  
  
"C'mon!" the young man said, grabbing her hand and running harder. "We have to tell Link about this."  
  
"That's it!" Malon exclaimed, slowing rather than speeding up. "Why didn't I see it before? Go on ahead. I've got an idea to stop those furry beasts."  
  
"Like hell!" Weiun swore. "The only way I'm leaving you side is at death's door, and we're nowhere near there now. Not so close to the tunnel, and escape."  
  
"Only escape if those things can be stopped." Malon took his hand gently, pressing it to her lips. "Trust me on this. I can do it, I have to do it. And I will catch up."  
  
"I trust you," Weiun said. "Right, but I'll be just ahead, ready to come bounding to your rescue should you need it." With that, he raced ahead, looking constantly over his shoulder, at Malon, and past her, to the Wraiths pouring into the valley.  
  
He reached the tunnel entrance panting and exhausted, leaning on the rocks jutting from the wall for support as he watched Malon stand before the tide of surging black that threatened to engulf her and the entire canyon. Every fiber in his being was torn between his complete trust in her and the desire to race out there scoop her up, and bear her away from this hellish place. He had almost resigned himself to the latter when a hand fell heavily on his shoulder. He turned to face the Hero of Time.  
  
"What is she doing out there?" he asked sharply, he eyes fixed on the same point that Weiun's had been moments earlier.  
  
"No idea, but she. . . she says she can 'see' things. She saw you and Zelda, when you weren't even in line of sight, and the end of the tunnel. She says she can stop the Wraiths and keep them from wiping us out. I want to trust her, but I'm worried sick at the same time."  
  
The hero clapped a hand to his forehead. "Of course! Another Shadow Sage. I can't believe it was right in from of me and I didn't see it."  
  
The younger man frowned. "What does that mean?"  
  
"The Sage of Shadows controls the earth. Not the flames at its core like the Sage of Fire, but the living earth itself. They see things, connection no one else can see. Impa knew that Ganondorf was bad news, and new that Zelda's predictions were accurate. That's why she took the Princess from the castle in time. She might even have partially foreseen my darker side's strike for the Master Sword, and knew where he would go."  
  
"If they command the earth, then that means. . ." Weiun trailed off as the sheer magnitude of the revelation dawned on him. "She might actually be able to stop them!"  
  
"She's certainly trying!" Link exclaimed, pointing. "Look!"  
  
Malon had begun to glow an unearthly color somewhere between purple and red. Her hands were raised and Weiun could hear bits and pieces of a chant that issued from her lips. As she continued, the ground under their feet began to tremble.  
  
Great crack appeared in the canyon walls, dust of the stones that strained to break free raining down on the advancing Wraiths, causing them to pause for a moment. That moment was apparently all that Malon needed, for, in that moment, she brought the mass of a mountain down upon the beasts. They never even had a chance to scream.  
  
Turning from the rockslide still thundering behind her, the archer raced toward the tunnel entrance, her face stretched in a girlish grin. However, Weiun had not stopped looking past her, and he was horrified by what he saw. A chain reaction was sweeping across the walls of Gifster Canyon, boulders crashing down, some falling close on Malon's heels. Shouting desperately, he and Link urged her to hurry, beckoning wildly as the canyon crashed down around them.  
  
"She's not going to make it!" Weiun cried, leaping forward, only to be restrained by a stronger grip on his shoulder. He nearly fell to his knees as a piece of the tunnel ceiling came crashing down where he would have been had Link not stopped him. That didn't make him any less furious.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" the younger man shouted above the clamor of the splitting stone. "She'll die if we don't help her!"  
  
"True, but we do it my way!" Link said sternly, stepping in front of him. "Carefully."  
  
The two wove their way through the chaos that the canyon had turned into in only a handful of moments. More of the canyon cracked and fell, crashing to the dust and rubble fast accumulating. Link ducked, dodged, and Weiun followed, getting the feeling that he Hero of Time had done this sort of thing before.  
  
"Malon!" he called, reaching out a hand to grab onto the fleeing archer. But as fate would have it, at that moment Link pushed the soldier to the ground and dived on top of him. Where Weiun had just stood was a mass of rock and debris, chips still flying through the air.  
  
And the whole mess was between them and Malon.  
  
"NO!" he cried, trying desperately to heave himself from the ground and dig his way through the rubble. "Hang on Malon! I'm coming!"  
  
"You can't help her now!" Link shouted, hauling the struggling soldier arduously away from the mound of what had been the canyon wall. "If we stay, we die here. We have to go!"  
  
Weiun turned to the hero, about to say something sharp, but stopped abruptly as he looked at the older man's right shoulder. Fabric and flesh were torn, and blood stained the emerald green of his tabard. Link looked once at his wound, then away, face drawn tight. "I wondered that I couldn't feel much of anything in that arm." He shook his head, glancing back once at the blockade between them and Weiun's wife. "She gave her life to save yours Weiun," the Hero of Time said slowly. "Do you really want that sacrifice to be in vain?"  
  
Weiun balled his fists, anguish and helplessness threatening to break him apart. Then he shook his head slowly, teeth clenched hard and tears running through the dirt on his face. Silently, he helped Link back to the tunnel as the last of the earth's fury fell to the floor of Gifster Canyon.  
  
The torch flickered, shying away from the breeze that wafted down from the end of the tunnel. The flame cast eerie shadows on the walls of the roughly circular structure, barely illuminating the near end, and the mounds of rock and dust that had closed the tunnel at that end. Link looked back once, searching the shadows for the person he knew was there, feeling sorrow for the man's loss.  
  
Weiun shuffled along lifelessly, head hung and eyes staring emptily at the ground. Link knew that there were several things he could have said, but none would have diminished the pain the man was feeling. He knew what Thar was going through, and that there was nothing that could be done for him, except to let him morn in peace.  
  
Of course, the hero thought, gingerly flexing the fingers on his scorched left hand, there would not be much to do in the next few days but to morn. Along with Malon, the Allies seemed to have lost roughly half of their forces, with others not counted or missing. Even if all those lost were found, there would be no chance of mounting another counterstrike against the Coughlians anytime soon.  
  
Which was why the king and Zelda had decided to flee through the canyon, the tunnel, and away from Hyrule. The tunnel stretched for a considerable length, going mainly straight but dipping or rising occasionally. Assuming that the king's calculations were correct, they would emerge northwest of Hyrule Caste, on the other side of the mountains that rose behind it. Who or what existed in that strange land, none, not even the most learned scholars could tell, for none had dared venture there. It struck Link as rather ironic that the question would only be answered in the moment of Hyrule's greatest defeat.  
  
The young man tripped, catching the wall with his right arm, and gasped sharply as pain lanced up toward his shoulder. He paused, taking the time to catch his breath, and to let the pain subside partially before moving on.  
  
Ahead of him, growing slightly more visible, was a dot of light. Not the flickering red of the torches in front, but the steady gold of natural sunshine. He frowned slightly, and wondered how long they had been in the tunnel. Apparently, not very long. The battle had been lost when the day was yet young, but now it seemed ages and ages ago that he fell from Epona, his hand burning in pain. Epona, at least, was still alive, being looked after by Rith and Saral. The same could not be said for thousands who had fallen in the battle against the Coughlians.  
  
I shouldn't have let myself get carried away, he said mentally, scolding himself harshly. There might have been something I could have done if I had been more careful, and Malon might still be alive. If nothing else, Zelda and I are both sure to lose even more sleep over what we saw back there. And what still lingers on my hand.  
  
The mark had not faded, only darkened around the edges, accentuating the reddish tinge to the skin surrounding it. If his guess was correct, the events during the battle had accelerated the spread of the thing that had implanted itself in him. If they didn't think of something to do about their current situation soon, there would be nothing he could do to stop it, save resort to his own death.  
  
The daylight grew brighter, and, silhouetted against it was a familiar golden-haired figure waiting for him.  
  
"I'm glad you're still alive Link," she said, embracing him. "I was worried when I saw you go back to help Weiun and Malon. How are they?"  
  
The Hero of Time shook his head. "Malon didn't make it. She's gone, and Weiun is really torn up over it too. Looks like he just had his heart ripped out."  
  
"It must remind you of how you felt when you thought you had lost me forever," Zelda said, her face dark. "I'm sorry Link. I know you loved her like your own sister, and that she meant a great deal to you."  
  
"Save your sympathy for Weiun," the young man said, pulling slightly away from the Princess. "She was the only person he had left, and now that she's gone, he'll be more alone than I ever could be with you still alive." He glanced back at the warrior as he exited the tunnel and sat heavily on the ground, still staring at nothing. He winced at the motion, and the movement brought Zelda's eyes to his shoulder.  
  
"By the Goddesses Link, what happened to you?"  
  
Link smiled dismissively. "The canyon must have gotten a piece of me when I dove on Weiun to shield him from the rockfall. On the other hand," he said, pointing to the red stain on Zelda's chest, "I am very curious as to how that got there."  
  
The Princess shrugged. "A lucky arrow from the Coughlians. Fortunately for me, my chain mail was luckier. It broke the skin, but the bleeding has nearly stopped." Her eyes met his sternly. "Unlike your wound."  
  
"I'll live," Link said. "I'm more worried about Weiun right now."  
  
"He's strong," Zelda said reassuringly. "I think that if anyone can make it through this, he can"  
  
"I hope you're right," Link said dubiously. "But I don't know if any of us will be able to last much longer. That battle was out last hope. Without that, I don't think the people of Hyrule will be able to carry on."  
  
"Nonsense," Zelda chided. "They still have you, and Hyrule still has the Master Sword. With those, nothing, not even the Coughlians, can stand against us for long."  
  
"That's what I'm afraid of Zelda," Link said, looking her in the eye. "I didn't want to tell you, not until we were reasonable safe. You see, when I fell from Epona, and I don't know how this happened, but. . . well, look." The hero unbuckled his baldric, and removed the sacred blade of Hyrule from its scabbard. Halfway down the blade from the quillions, the sword had been snapped in two.  
  
Zelda stared at it for a long time before she found her voice. "How?" was all she could manage.  
  
"I don't know," Link replied, replacing the shards. "I only noticed it when I bent to scoop it from the ground when we were fleeing from the Wraiths. Maybe I fell on it, or maybe a horse trampled it. Whatever happened, it's beyond my skill to repair now."  
  
"As is the hope of the people of Hyrule." Zelda's face became a mask of frustration. "How can we explain this to them? They'll be crushed."  
  
"I don't know," Link admitted. "But what I do know is this. We are far from done with the Coughlians, very far indeed. I may not bear the Master Sword any longer, but I am still armed and, wounded arm aside, I can still fight. I promise you that no matter how long it takes, not matter how far I have to go, I will find a way to beat them, and make them pay for what they've done."  
  
"Thank you Link," Zelda said, wrapping her arms around him again. "From anyone else, I would have assumed that to be only so much hot air. But I know that I can always count on you to keep a promise."  
  
The sun had begun to set behind the mountains, and the two looked to the north, to the uncharted lands that lay before them, the havens, and the dangers, the joys, and the despairs. And toward the future.  
  
It was the end of the last day of summer, and the beginning of fall. 


End file.
